A Look at Social Security Number Usage and Protection
Late last month, the US Government Accountability Office issued a study report titled "SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS - Use is Widespread and Protection Could Be Improved" (PDF).
The use of SSNs as a key identifier in both the public and private sectors will likely continue as there is currently no other widely accepted alternative. However, because of this widespread use of SSNs, and the vulnerabilities that remain to protecting this identifier in both sectors, SSNs continue to be accessible to misuse by identity thieves and others. Given the significance of the SSN in committing fraud or stealing an individual’s identity, it would be helpful to take additional steps to protect this number.
As the Congress moves forward in pursuing legislation to address SSN protection and identity theft, focusing the debate on vulnerabilities that have already been documented may help target efforts and policy directly toward immediate improvements in SSN protection. To this end, we look forward to supporting the Subcommittee and the Congress however we can to further ensure the integrity of SSNs.
Related to this, we have issued a report on the federal government’s provision of SSNs to state and local public record keepers, and we have also recently begun a review of the bulk sale of public records containing SSNs, including how federal law protects SSNs in these records when they are sold to entities both here and overseas.
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