Information Shield Simplifies IRS Cyber Plan Compliance

New product helps Tax Preparers address IRS Cyber Security Plan requirements.

Information Shield – a leading provider of cyber security compliance software – today announced the release of its latest time-saving compliance product. The new IRS Cyber Security Plan Template enables tax preparers quickly build a cyber security plan that addresses the latest IRS requirements.

“Over 1 million tax preparers in the US are required to meet the new IRS requirements.” said David Lineman, CEO of Information Shield.  “Man of these are small offices, that don’t have the time or resources to decipher the IRS requirements and build a robust, quality Cyber Security Plan that works for them.  We have leveraged our leading security compliance library and scaled it down to fit the requirements of any tax preparer – no matter how small.”

IRS Cyber Plan Required By Law

The IRS now requires tax providers to develop a comprehensive written cyber security plan that addresses the requirements of several key special publications, including IRS Publication 4557 “Safeguarding Taxpayer Data”. Additional security measures are required for electronic filing or “E-Filing,” which is now common practice.

According to the IRS, many of the estimated 1.2 million tax preparers may not realize they are required under federal law to have a data security plan. Creating a data security plan is one part of the new Taxes-Security-Together Checklist.  In fact, each tax preparer is required to validate that they have such a plan in place when they renew their tax preparer ID each year.

“While the majority of tax preparers in the US are small offices,” said Lineman, “the IRS still requires the same security measures that are typical of larger organizations.   This makes is especially challenging for small offices with very little resources to implement the program.  Using the IRS Cyber Plan Template, tax preparers can quickly jump-start their program, providing essential documentation and expert advice on moving forward.”

Key Features of the IRS Cyber Plan Template

The new IRS Cyber Plan Template is based on our Information Security Policies Made Easy product, the leading information security policy library used by over 10,000 customers worldwide.  Key features include:

Cyber Security Plan Template – The Cyber Plan Template is a complete Cyber Security Plan in MS-Word format and easy to customize in a manner of minutes.   It contains all key topics required by various IRS special publications.  Each section contains expert tips to customize the plan for the individual organization.

Key Information Security Policies – The IRS requires written information security policies covering specific topics for protecting data, including special security controls for anyone submitting electronic returns.   Topics include cyber risk management, access control, data protection, encryption, wireless security, disaster recovery planning and incident response.

Cyber Security Education Training – The IRS requires that all employees who process taxpayer data must be educated against cyber security threats.  The IRS Cyber Plan Template includes Security Awareness Training specifically designed for IRS Tax Preparers.

Acceptable Use Policies – The IRS requires that all employees who process taxpayer data must be educated against cyber security threats.   The Template includes an Acceptable Use of Assets Policy that can be used to educate employees on key compliance requirements.

About Information Shield™ and the Common Compliance Engine

Information Shield enables organizations to quickly build an information security program based on industry best-practices. The Common Control Engine (CCE) is a scalable library of over 400 information security and data privacy controls mapped to leading frameworks such as ISO 27002, NIST CSF, GDPR and PCI-DSS.  ComplianceShield takes the “policies made easy” concept to a new level, enabling companies to build a complete program around key security best practices.  ComplianceShield is ideal for organizations that do not have access to cyber security talent, providing built-in security content and wizard-based automation.

A free sample of the Cyber Security Plan Template is available from the Information Shield web site.

— # # # —