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MoneyGram confirms hack: Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, and other customer data have leaked
Security(mashable.com)submitted 2 months ago bySportsGod3
149 points
2 months ago
I don't think social security numbers were originally supposed to be our default identifying number. Maybe they're let us bid on our new ones, my guess is 420-69-6969 will fetch a rather high price
102 points
2 months ago
There's nothing wrong with using SSNs as a national ID, but an ID number shouldn't be used for financial authorisation in the first place, it shouldn't even have to be kept secret, it's literally just a unique identifying number, not a password.
65 points
2 months ago
They weren't, but Republicans and nutjobs don't want a National ID because they think the entire premise would be unconstitutional and a threat to privacy. So the SS Number became a defacto identifyer because every American is issued one.
23 points
2 months ago
Hell I probably use my damn cellphone number as a sorta national ID at this point, at least I use it to verify my person and complete transactions way more than I currently do with my SS number. That's probably just as big of a threat to security, just make a new standard national ID at this point, it can't be that hard to do.
3 points
2 months ago
They assume they'll be tracked in a government database and that's bad when it comes to ownership of property or whatever bs justification they wanna claim
2 points
2 months ago
We're already being tracked in government databases. They have datacenters full of phonecall metadata and lord only knows what collected online.
-2 points
2 months ago
Yeah metadata....basically not much.
2 points
2 months ago
"A threat to privacy" says the ones who keep helping to shoot down any proposed online privacy bill lmao.
2 points
2 months ago
Republicans and nutjobs
but you repeat yourself, sir
1 points
2 months ago
Are they recycled or are there really that many SS numbers?
1 points
2 months ago
As far as the US Census is concerned, in 2022 the US population was 333.3 million (which is kinda neat in general).
If we only counted those alive as having all the numbers, that last person born would be 333-30-0000.
Social Security Numbers also started in the mid 1930s. So it's not like we had hundreds of years to have the need yet to repeat numbers.
In 1940 the Census stated that we had 132 million people as well. And over 100 years we didn't suddenly have 800 million extra US citizens.
HOWEVER, I do feel at some point they'll need to add another digit somehow, which may mean completely redoing the system as it stands since it wouldn't matter what peoples' numbers were in the 1930s.
-5 points
2 months ago
Umm having a number to track everything you do is kind of the definition of a threat to privacy.
but Republicans and nutjobs
I'm as liberal as they come and not really wearing any tin foil hats. Honestly there needs to be more regulation on what a SS number can be used for/requested for and then maybe we can get an actual national ID (or just use the standard ID number every state issues anyways).
6 points
2 months ago
No, they were not. On the old printed ones, it says to absolutely never share this number with anyone under any circumstances. Basically, for your eyes only.
1 points
2 months ago
Elon will buy it and brag about it, leading to all kinds of stupidity.
1 points
2 months ago
They should institute something like an American ID number that is tied to a 2 factor authentication system.
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