Social Security numbers are a privacy liability
Social Security numbers (SSNs) were designed to distribute benefits, not function as secure identifiers. They are plagued by the entropy problem, being easily guessable, and the symmetry problem, where sharing your SSN for verification risks its exposure. A study found that SSNs for individuals born in certain states can be guessed with minimal attempts. Unlike unique passwords for each service, SSNs lack this protection, leading to vulnerabilities during data breaches. A transition to a modern identity system using public key and zero-knowledge cryptography could address these issues. This technology would ensure that sensitive data remains confidential while allowing for verification of identity without sharing the SSN. By employing these methods, our personal data would be significantly better protected, minimizing the risks currently associated with SSNs.
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