The IRS awarded a six-month extension on its contract for employee access management services through Cyber Armed Security, LLC.
The tax agency announced the extension with a sole source justification on Aug. 10, stating: “A lapse in service would result in a severe impact to the IRS as updates and batches would not be available and put the IRS at risk.”
Download: Sole Source Justification for Six-Month Extension
Specifically, Cyber Armed Security manages the IRS’ Passlogix v-Go Single Sign-On (SSO) and Authentication Manager, which enables the agency to track and manage user access while making it easier for users and employees who have a single username and password to remember the information.
The extension runs from Aug. 13, 2016, to Feb. 12, 2017.
IRS contracting officials are currently working on a follow-on solicitation for future access management services so the agency can run a full and open competition when the extension expires. However, the sole source justification documents note the extension “does not result from a lack of planning or the expiration of funds.”
The total amount of the extended contract is redacted; however, the documents show the IRS did not get the additional approvals required for deals over $700,000 — presumably because those approvals weren’t required.
Last year, during a conference on biometrics and authentication tools, National Institute of Standards and Technology cyber policy strategist Ellen Nadeau noted that a recent study showed the IRS is saving between $260 million and $305 million a year using such tools.
“We’re making it a focus this year to do more research and identify what really are the economic benefits for an agency to adopt these solutions,” Nadeau said during a panel at the 2015 AFCEA Global Identity Summit in Tampa.
The IRS’ savings were “due to the fact that the agency could cut down on resourcing a lot of the work they do in person or over the phone,” she added. “They could then do it online and save a lot of money.”
