Computing

"I have argued that cryptocurrencies may be creating a movement toward non-uniform currency in the U.S. — a system that society has disliked historically. In the pre-Civil War era, the majority of the U.S. money supply consisted of privately issued banknotes. Publications listed and frequently updated the going exchange rates for different currencies in particular locations. Similar to today’s global currency system, the pre-Civil War era was characterized by exchange rate chaos, with currencies constantly fluctuating against one another. People didn’t like that system, and a uniform currency was implemented in the U.S. during the Civil War. But cryptocurrencies may unwittingly be pushing us back in the direction of a non-uniform currency system." more »

"IRS faced an unprecedented workload during the 2021 filing season. It began with a backlog of 8 million returns from the prior year. IRS reduced the backlog, but still had millions of new 2021 returns to process by year's end. Taxpayers faced refund delays due to an unprecedented volume of returns requiring manual review—most with similar tax credit errors. During the 2021 filing season, taxpayers also struggled to get help from IRS as: Telephone demand skyrocketed, online refund information was scant, correspondence nearly tripled, in-person service declined. We recommended that IRS address these issues." more »

GAO collected and analyzed publicly available reports from federal and nonfederal organizations to identify risks to internet architecture components GAO also reviewed federal law and policy and its prior work to identify federal internet architecture security roles and responsible agencies. Based on the agencies' roles, GAO collected and analyzed relevant documents and conducted interviews with officials from the responsible agencies. In addition, GAO convened two panels with subject matter experts. The panelists have experience in various aspects of the internet architecture, such as owning and operating elements of the infrastructure, participating in and contributing to standards-setting organizations, and studying and participating in various multistakeholder governance entities. more »

“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk for abuse directed towards seniors who are socially isolated and vulnerable to exploitation,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “As this Annual Report demonstrates, the department has marshalled a wide array of tools – enforcement actions, research, public education and outreach, training and victim services – to combat elder abuse and to ensure that our seniors have the support and protections that they deserve.” “While technology has brought the world together in many ways, it has also opened the door to a myriad of fraud schemes that prey upon older adults,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released the first 2020 Elder Fraud Report providing information useful for targeting interventions. For example, the report found that over 100,000 persons over the age of 60 filed a complaint, with a resulting loss of nearly $1 billion, although the greatest financial losses were associated with confidence fraud/romance scams. more »