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Telecommuting keeps IRS from drowning
7 comments- IT TOPICS:Careers
Where I live it hasn't rained more than a tenth of an inch in weeks. That's not the case on the Eastern Seaboard, though, and now, according to this CW article, the IRS is drowning in excess water. That could be good or bad, depending on your point of view. I'm all for anything that makes life harder for the IRS, but that's personal.
I find it interesting that the IRS is encouraging more workers to telecommute. It's a good strategy, really, because it means the IRS planned for the unpredictable, at least to some extent. But I worry that it didn't plan well enough. Given all of the data breaches in government agencies of late, I find myself worrying that telecommuting employees are properly secured.
Don't misunderstand. I'm a huge fan of telecommuting (as a person whose commute is all of 10 steps from the living room and four from the coffee maker). But I think that telecommuting should be implemented in a thoughtful manner, and I can't help but wonder just how well thought out the whole move to make employees, displaced by rising waters, telecommuting workers.
There's a lot at stake with an agency like the IRS. Taxpayers' social security numbers being the most worrisome. What's to ensure these sudden telecommuters have firewalls in place and that they're being properly used? And how well encrypted is the data that's being transmitted from the telecomuter's computer to the data center? Are there physical security measures in place or are my tax returns being displayed on some teleworker's computer for every person that walks through the house to see?
Telecommuting is a great way to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Give people access to work at home and you have two types of people. Those who accomplish nothing and those who work during every spare minute. The problem with telecommuting as part of a disaster recovery plan is that unless there were tests conducted prior to the disaster, there's just no way to be sure that teleworkers are properly secured. And I have no idea if the IRS tested their teleworking strategies.
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