Government Moves Away from SSN as Identifier
February 22, 2011 – 12:42 pmThe Department of Defense proclaims, “The national security depends on our defense installations and facilities being in the right place, at the right time, with the right qualities and capacities to protect our national resources.” But by relying on Social Security numbers as primary identifiers, this same organization puts the identities of soldiers and their families at risk.
Last month, four West Point professors released a journal article arguing, “Despite the Defense Department’s recent advances in protecting personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, the military continues to have a ‘cultural disregard’ for PII.” The professors also pointed out that since the first digits of a Social Security number can be deduced based on birth year and location, restricting use to the last four digits does not adequately preclude identity theft.
In 2007, an Office of Management and Budget memo ordered agencies to eliminate all nonessential uses of Social Security numbers, and the Department of Defense is currently working on limiting its use of the numbers.
If you are a soldier or have a family member away on leave, there are two ways to protect yourself or your family member:
1. Place an “act Read more…
With RSA 2011 right in our rear-view mirror, we thought it would be appropriate to showcase a number of videos from the big event. And, if you missed out on RSA 2011, fret not. This video series will make you feel as if you were actually there. See you next year at RSA 2012!