CRA’s e-filing services are still down as the government tests its security patches in response to the Heartbleed bug, but the tax service says late-filing taxpayers won’t be penalized.
Taking down E-FILE, NETFILE, My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client is a precaution to protect taxpayer information, the agency says. In an update today, it states, “We continue to anticipate a resumption of our e-services over the weekend.”
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CRA is currently testing its security fixes to make sure the sites are secure when they’re re-launched.
As a tax season reprieve, CRA won’t be charging interest or penalties to individual taxpayers who file after April 30. CRA will extend the deadline for the equivalent of however many days the sites are down.
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The Heartbleed bug exploits a flaw in Open SSL software, which is commonly used by websites to provide security and privacy.
The CRA isn’t the only government website being affected, as the government’s chief information officer has told departments to disable all public websites running unpatched Open SSL software.
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Advisor.ca is fully patched against the Heartbleed bug.