Personal data at risk in lost IRS laptops

At least 490 IRS computers have been stolen or lost since 2003 in security breaches that potentially jeopardized the personal information of more than 2,000 taxpayers, a government audit reported Wednesday.

The computers were lost in 387 incidents, most of which were not reported to the IRS computer security office as required, according to the report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

The audit also found that IRS laptops lacked adequate password controls and encryption software that would protect taxpayer information and other data.

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