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Last updated: Apr. 23, 2014
The deadline for individual tax returns for 2013 taxes is now May 5, 2014.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) extended the tax filing deadline 5 days to compensate for down time from the Heartbleed bug.
CRA had turned off online services, including e-filing, due to security concerns related to the Heartbleed bug. Full service was restored on all CRA online services early last week.
The CRA completed a version update to their systems to close the vulnerability of the Heartbleed bug and tax filers were again able to e-file tax returns.
During the outage FBC tax specialists continued to complete our Members’ tax returns and we resumed e-filing the moment the systems were again available.
FBC was never at risk of the Heartbleed bug. FBC protects our Members’ personal and financial data with the highest security protocols used by banks and other financial institutions.
None of our systems use the OpenSSL software and therefore we were not exposed to the Heartbleed bug.
Protect Your Personal Information Online
The Heartbleed bug has drawn a lot of attention to the importance of taking steps to keep personal information secure.
We’d like to provide a few third-party links to provide more information on what you could do to help ensure the safety of your information online.
The CBC website provides information on the Heartbleed bug and steps you can take to protect yourself online.
You can also find a list of sites that were affected by Heartbleed is available from Mashable.
Beware of Telephone and Email Scams
We’d also like to remind everyone to be aware of emails and telephone calls that claim to be from the CRA.
Do not click on links or attachments in unsolicited emails and do not give out personal emails to incoming callers.
We’re Here to Help
Just like CRA needed people with computer expertise to survive the Heartbleed bug, as a small business owner you could benefit from the help provided by tax experts.
Surviving tax season includes consistent record keeping throughout the year and getting the help you need when you need it.