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All U.S. Social Security numbers may need to be changed following a massive breach that is already being investigated as a national threat (www.ecoticias.com)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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According to a protected disclosure filed with the Office of Special Counsel, Borges told the Government Accountability Project that DOGE officials working at Social Security created a “live copy” of the country’s Social Security records in a separate cloud environment that sidestepped usual security checks.

The group says those lapses put the Social Security information of more than 300 million Americans at risk.

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[–] 85 points 8 months ago (8 children)

Regardless of whether or not they are breached, the social security numbering system needs to be changed because it is far from a secure number.

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  • [–] 60 points 8 months ago (6 children)

    because it is far from a secure number.

    It is only the American obsession with using it as a unique identifier for everything in their lives that has caused this issue.

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  • [–] 56 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    The problem is they are using Identification for authentication.

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  • [–] 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    It is not even identification, it is literally just a number that anyone can use.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    The original idea is exactly for identification (just not secure ones). Think of it like writing your name on the inside of your jacket or have a name tag on your luggage.

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  • [–] 18 points 8 months ago

    It would be less expensive to simply trust everyone. Administering a numbering system and trying to prevent fraud costs more than the actual fraud it prevents, and does nothing to prevent the larger frauds.

    It's like having a chain on the pen at the bank, with a security guard watching the chain, and three managers making aure the secuirty guard is watching the chain all day, but the cash drawers are open and the three managers simply help themselves to as much cash as they like.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    Changing the system do not make it more secure by default. Here the SSN equivalent is calculated with your name, surname, date and place of birth and a check code, and it is not a secret how to calculate it (it was the very first program you write if you study IT at school for example).

    The problem is not SSN number itself, but the fact that you need only it to do everything.

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