With regard to SSN, the real issue is that it is used as both an identifier and as an authenticator. It's fine as an identifier, but authenticating with a numbe

With regard to SSN, the real issue is that it is used as both an identifier and as an authenticator. It's fine as an identifier, but authenticating with a number that anyone can steal (and yet, perversely, is difficult to replace with a new number) is terrible. I agree with your suggestion of some kind of biometric type authenticator, whether it be a video, retina scan, fingerprint, or some combination thereof.