The White House plans to abandon social security numbers

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The administration of President Donald Trump is exploring options for replacing the use of social security numbers (SSN) of Americans as the main identifier of the individual after a massive data leak from the agency Equifax inc.

The White House appealed to federal agencies and agencies with a request to study the vulnerabilities of using an identifier linked to SSN, and also to develop proposals on how to replace the existing system. Bloomberg.

“I am convinced that the Social Security number has become obsolete. Every time you use your Social Security number, you put yourself at risk,” said the presidential aide and White House cybersecurity coordinator. Rob Joyce.

Former CEO Equifax Richard Smith testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Lawmakers expressed outrage at the scale of the leak and asked for a solution to this problem.

Smith noted that the growing number of hacker attacks using a social security number has undermined its value as a way to ensure security.

Joyce noted that officials are exploring options for “what would be the best system” that will use the latest technologies, including “modern cryptographic identifier” and more.

Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, said that one of the options for improving security would be to give individuals a personal cryptographic number embedded in a special device. It would work on the principle of a bank card, increasing the level of user data security. In addition, it is assumed that the user will have a limited number of attempts with the introduction of this cryptographic number.

Consideration is also given to the introduction of a system with two keys: open and closed, which would be used for identification. For example, if you need personal identification, people provide the organization with a public key, after which it sends them a message that can only be decrypted using the private key. And only after that the identification is confirmed. These keys can be changed periodically.

One potential tool that can be used is blockchain technology. It creates a kind of digital fingerprint of DNA that is “mathematically impossible” to duplicate.

Instead of a Social Security number, each person can receive a blockchain hash, a kind of algorithm unique to the individual that cannot be replicated. It is this chain that can be used for identification.

Changing this system now will require amendments to many legislative acts, as well as to other processes.

For example, the federal health program for the elderly Medicare has long used SSN on patient ID cards. Now there was a question about how to replace these numbers with something else.

The US government began issuing social security numbers in 1936. According to the Social Security Administration, about 454 of millions of different numbers were issued. Initially, his goal was to track the user's salary and retirement savings. But over time, this number has become a national identifier.

Recall in September data was stolenincluding social security numbers, 143 millions of Americans who were stored on the portal Equifax.

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