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Blockchain as a Replacement for SSNs?
The US has had Social Security Numbers, the SSN, since 1936. The security offered by the 9-digit SSN has eroded significantly, especially over the past decade as technology has improved but no changes have been made to enhance our identification technology.
Data breaches occur frequently and SSNs can now be cheaply purchased on the black market. Even without buying numbers on the black market, SSNs can be fairly easily guessed. The first three digits have to do geographically with where the number was issued. Your birth date also factors into the number. Researchers have found that they can often accurately guess 44 percent of the time what a person’s social security number is.
Rob Joyce, White House cybersecurity coordinator, said that “I feel very strongly that the Social Security number has outlived its usefulness. Every time we use the Social Security number, you put it at risk.”
What are our options? Blockchain is one. Bob Stasio, fellow at the Truman National Security Project, said that “blockchain technology provides a much more efficient and mathematically sound method of transaction, identification and validation.” The country of Estonia has been using a blockchain identification system since 2007.
