At 11:02 AM -0800 12/31/96, Timothy C. May wrote:
There have been several reports cited here recently about changes in the SS laws to make the SS number more of an ID number. ...
And concerns about "identity theft" when such a simple thing as an SS number is the key to so many records, rights, etc.
I don't see how you can have the SS number be both a public ID number and a secret password. Perhaps you could have it be one, but not both. It seems to me that parts of our society are trying have it be a password and parts a public ID number. (Perhaps the same parts?) Doing both just won't work. (Using SS as a password is subject to all the stealing and replay attacks that make passwords a really bad idea for secure identification.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | Client in California, POP3 | Periwinkle -- Consulting (408)356-8506 | in Pittsburgh, Packets in | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz@netcom.com | Pakistan. - me | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA