IRS contractor charged with stealing Donald Trump’s (and others') tax returns, which were leaked to press

It's a little concerning that people in a consultant/contractor role have that kind of access at such a major government agency.

The company I work for does a lot of consulting with a lot of big "players" (albeit none of them federal agencies...a few state-level ones, but federal is a whole 'nother level)...and I've been sent "on assignment" to places and when it comes to sensitive financial information, they're extremely cautious about that stuff.

For instance, I (and 3 team members) spent a week "on assignment" consulting with one of the "Big 3" credit bureaus. The amount of safeguards in place were astonishing.

Literally had someone from the organization staring over my shoulder the entire time I was working (along with the two strategically placed cameras recording). Special screen recording software was in effect so they could record everything I was doing in my various VM sessions. It was a "your cell phone or any other devices capable of pictures or video recording stays in a lockbox outside of the actual room where you'll be working and accessing information" type of deal, and I had to sign a dozen or so NDAs all specifically pertaining to consumer data.

Felt like what I'd imagine it being like for someone traveling to North Korea. (minus the execution part)

The fact that the IRS isn't the doing the same with people in a consulting/contracting role (and being that they have access to all of our financials and SSNs) is, like I said, concerning.

Hopefully he'll get something. I've worked contract security and have had access to sensitive information (like the financial records of the contracting company's CEO) and would have expected to face some legal consequence if I stole it and gave it to a media outlet.