Let’s be honest. If the IRS packed up their briefcases and decided to stop auditing tomorrow… would you get a little “creative” with your taxes? 

Would you push the edge just a little more than you used to? Maybe skip a few receipts? Claim that new boat as a “mobile conference center”? You might not be proud of it—but you’d think about it. 

Here’s why: fewer auditors = fewer audits = fewer consequences. 

And guess what? That’s not just hypothetical. The number of IRS revenue agents—the people who actually do audits—has been slashed by nearly one-third. Tax pros are adjusting. Riskier positions are being taken. Fewer disclosures. More tax savings. The gamble is starting to feel worth it. 

But here’s the twist…

While audit rates are dropping for taxes, the same cannot be said for cyber incidents. The watchdogs may be sleeping—but the wolves are wide awake. And they’re not wearing badges or carrying clipboards. They’re packing lawsuits. The number of lawsuits and legal action has doubled in the last 6 months. 

Because the threat after a data breach isn’t just regulators. 

It’s attorneys. 

You know, the kind who show up after a ransomware event with a stack of affidavits and a lawsuit in hand. And their pitch is simple: You were negligent. You failed to secure data. You broke your contract. Pay up. 

Suddenly, you’re not worried about HIPAA fines or GDPR audits. You’re trying to stay out of bankruptcy court. 

That’s why the smart companies—the ones still standing—aren’t treating compliance like a box-checking chore. They’re using it as a legal defense strategy. They’ve stopped calling it compliance. They’ve started calling it what it really is: 

Cyber Liability Management. 

You need proof. Not just that you “had security,” but that you had a standard of care—and followed it. Evidence of policies. Evidence of playbooks. Evidence of staff training. Evidence of what you did, when you did it, and why it mattered. 

That’s not just for audits. That’s for courtrooms. 

Here’s the part that should really make you sweat: the attorneys will already have their evidence. 

They’ll have proof there was a breach. They’ll have a client who’s pissed. And all they have to do is show that you didn’t take reasonable steps. That you didn’t have a plan. That your “security program” was as sturdy as wet cardboard. 

What do you have to prove them wrong? 

If you don’t know the answer, start with a Cyber Liability Assessment. We’ll tell you where you stand. What gaps exist. And how to start building a defense strategy that doesn’t fall apart when the subpoenas show up. 

Because this isn’t “tax season.” 

This is open season on organizations that can’t prove they did the right thing when it comes to securing data.