What Tax Professionals Need to Know about the Dark Web

Sovos
August 29, 2017

This blog was last updated on March 11, 2019

If you don’t know much about the dark web, you’re not alone. Maybe 5 percent of internet users are on it (at a stretch), but it’s anywhere from 6 to 500 times larger than the consumer web. And it can definitely affect your job as a tax professional.

Anything and everything is for sale on the dark web–including tax information–so the dark web is the last place you want your tax information to be. In a new white paper, Sovos leans on the experience of Randy Johnston, security expert and founder of Network Management Group Inc., for a fascinating journey through the dark web and an explanation of what it is and how it works.

Unfamiliar Territory

This white paper answers all, or at least most, of your questions about what is sometimes also known as the deep web or darknet. It also offers some advice as to how tax professionals can keep, say, 1099 and W-2 information for going up for sale on the web’s dark side. 

The dark web, as it turns out, is home to the vices you’d expect–for sale, of course: weapons, drugs, stolen financial information, pornography and the like. But it’s also home to security researchers trying to determine ways to better protect both consumers’ and companies’ data, as well as to journalists connecting with clandestine sources in secret. Like the Wild West, the dark web has both villains and heroes. 

Staying in the Light

As it turns out, the best way to keep tax information off the dark web is through extreme diligence–and not just in terms of Internet security. In fact, some of the most effective methods for keeping data off the dark web have little at all to do with technology. 

Staying safe means keeping up to date with the latest advancements in tax information reporting and making sure you’re working with trustworthy people. There are other best practices, too, detailed in the white paper

Take Action

Take a revealing trip through the dark web in this Sovos white paper

Find out how Sovos keeps your data secure, and explore our 1099 reporting options

 

 

 

 

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Author

Sovos

Sovos is a global provider of tax, compliance and trust solutions and services that enable businesses to navigate an increasingly regulated world with true confidence. Purpose-built for always-on compliance capabilities, our scalable IT-driven solutions meet the demands of an evolving and complex global regulatory landscape. Sovos’ cloud-based software platform provides an unparalleled level of integration with business applications and government compliance processes. More than 100,000 customers in 100+ countries – including half the Fortune 500 – trust Sovos for their compliance needs. Sovos annually processes more than three billion transactions across 19,000 global tax jurisdictions. Bolstered by a robust partner program more than 400 strong, Sovos brings to bear an unrivaled global network for companies across industries and geographies. Founded in 1979, Sovos has operations across the Americas and Europe, and is owned by Hg and TA Associates.
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