Sound Suggestion on Social Security Security

In what, for now at least, seems like good news, the
president’s Identity
Theft Task Force has recommended that the federal government stop forcing
citizens to reveal their Social Security numbers to officials and for reasons
that have nothing to do with their Social Security benefits:

Under the plan, the task force urges the government to
review the uses of Social Security numbers as employee identification and
determine ways in which it can conceal or eliminate their use in agency systems
and paper and electronic forms.

[…]

The initial recommendations come as the government has
struggled with high-profile data breaches. At least 10 agencies in recent
months have reported incidents, which included the loss of a laptop and
external drive containing information for 26.5 million veterans and active-duty
troops. That equipment was later recovered.

As always, the best in cybersecurity
analysis is available from Wayne and Brooke, here and here.