4 ms·

What do other countries generally do? I know many have national IDs, but if the USA had a national ID #, wouldn't that just put us in the same bucket as SSN?

What do other countries generally do? I know many have national IDs, but if the USA had a national ID #, wouldn't that just put us in the same bucket as SSN? X.509 certs with public private keys may offer a solution, but I don't think there are many large countries that have adopted anything like that on a nationwide scale? X.509 certs still have an authority issue with managing their life cycle, something I personally beleive a competent goverment could figure out, though, but I know there are security experts who are skeptical. Biometrics offer another possible solution, but privacy advocates have been pretty, leery, perhaps for good reason, of mass biometric collection. What countries have successfully adopted a nationwide biometric identification system? Other soltions? I certainly agree SSNs as identification is a.complete.joke, but I am not sure the identification problem is completely a solved solution, either.

Swizec 3y ago
Oh SSN as identification makes complete sense. But it can’t also be a password, that’s where these things go wrong. Growing up in Europe you never hear about identity theft as a thing that exists. I think it’s because you have to present official photo ID when signing any serious contracts. And the liability for checking your identity falls on companies instead of individuals. This makes them care enough that the problem simply goes away. PS: SSNs get recycled so they’re not only bad as passwords, they also aren’t very good at identification
- giobox 3y ago
  > Growing up in Europe you never hear about identity theft as a thing that exists. > And the liability for checking your identity falls on companies instead of individuals. This makes them care enough that the problem simply goes away. What nonsense, to claim identity theft is a thing that doesn't happen in Europe! People pretend to be other people to access things they shouldn't almost everywhere. It's not a problem that gets solved at a continent level either - the EU alone has 27 separate States with their own legal systems and rules.
  - Swizec 3y ago
    I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying it's not a big part of public consciousness. You don't have movies that use identity theft as a plot point similar to how "teacher becomes meth dealer to pay for health care" wouldn't make sense as a TV show set in Europe. Forging a government issued identity card or passport to fit your description and biometrics is a very different beast than skimming someone's SSN. You'd only go to that much trouble for some very serious payout potential.
- ensignavenger 3y ago
  I have never heard of SSNs being recycled? https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/do-identification-numbers-get-reused.html https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-an... says otherwise. According to this official EU website, identity theft is certainly a thing in Europe. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2020-identity-theft https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landsc...
  - ensignavenger 3y ago
    Since the above linked article had a worldwide focus, I found this one that talks more in depth about identity theft in the EU in particuliar. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f85399b3-abed-11ec-83e1-01aa75ed71a1/language-en https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f85...

Swizec 3y ago

Oh SSN as identification makes complete sense. But it can’t also be a password, that’s where these things go wrong. Growing up in Europe you never hear about identity theft as a thing that exists. I think it’s because you have to present official photo ID when signing any serious contracts. And the liability for checking your identity falls on companies instead of individuals. This makes them care enough that the problem simply goes away. PS: SSNs get recycled so they’re not only bad as passwords, they also aren’t very good at identification

giobox 3y ago
> Growing up in Europe you never hear about identity theft as a thing that exists. > And the liability for checking your identity falls on companies instead of individuals. This makes them care enough that the problem simply goes away. What nonsense, to claim identity theft is a thing that doesn't happen in Europe! People pretend to be other people to access things they shouldn't almost everywhere. It's not a problem that gets solved at a continent level either - the EU alone has 27 separate States with their own legal systems and rules.
- Swizec 3y ago
  I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying it's not a big part of public consciousness. You don't have movies that use identity theft as a plot point similar to how "teacher becomes meth dealer to pay for health care" wouldn't make sense as a TV show set in Europe. Forging a government issued identity card or passport to fit your description and biometrics is a very different beast than skimming someone's SSN. You'd only go to that much trouble for some very serious payout potential.
ensignavenger 3y ago
I have never heard of SSNs being recycled? https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/do-identification-numbers-get-reused.html https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-an... says otherwise. According to this official EU website, identity theft is certainly a thing in Europe. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2020-identity-theft https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landsc...
- ensignavenger 3y ago
  Since the above linked article had a worldwide focus, I found this one that talks more in depth about identity theft in the EU in particuliar. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f85399b3-abed-11ec-83e1-01aa75ed71a1/language-en https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f85...