In this day and age you can never be too careful regarding your cybersecurity precautions, as they are of the utmost importance in the effort to keep your financial and other personal data secure. As a full service tax and accounting firm, LSL CPAs and Business Advisors knows this all too well, as we are constantly entrusted with the private and personal financial data of our clients, including their businesses and family members.
LSL CPAs has numerous systems in place to protect our clients’ financial data including secure email and client portals. Clients may occasionally complain about the added steps that are put in place by using secure email, but they are critical protections that benefit the client in the long term.
Additionally, with the increase in online access to various taxing agencies, including the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), both agencies have been forced to acknowledge that there have been recent breaches of their online systems by hackers who have somehow gained access to taxpayer accounts without the appropriate permissions.
As a result, the FTB recently announced changes to their MyFTB site, which can be accessed by both taxpayers and tax professionals, after the determination that certain taxpayer accounts were added to the MyFTB accounts of tax preparers who had no affiliation with the taxpayer or their accounting firm. These changes involve the implementation of a 10 business day waiting period before a taxpayer’s account can be added to the MyFTB access of a tax preparer or a Power of Attorney will be processed. The taxpayer is mailed a letter notifying them of the request for access by the tax preparer. The taxpayer will be given the opportunity to call and prevent access to their account. If the taxpayer does nothing, the access will be granted.
While all this may seem like overkill, the added online access has actually created a window of opportunity for hackers to gain access to a taxpayer’s private data such as estimated tax payments and wage withholding paid during the year.
The FTB has already been sending these notification letters to taxpayers that a tax preparer is requesting access, but now with the 10 day waiting period about to be put in place, this will strengthen the controls surrounding the FTB’s online access portal called MyFTB. Though the waiting period may be inconvenient, it is a necessary requirement to stop hackers in their tracks from gaining access to your sensitive financial data.
For more information, contact Pamela Bustos, Tax Partner [email protected].
*First published in the Cyber Security supplement in the OCBJ Journal – June 20 Issue
