3 ms·

It's stupid to give out credentials over the phone, but it's stupider still to have a system where one's birth date is a credential that is supposed to remain c

It's stupid to give out credentials over the phone, but it's stupider still to have a system where one's birth date is a credential that is supposed to remain confidential.

airstrike 1y ago
Same for SSNs
- viewtransform 1y ago
  What we need instead is an orb like thing that scans your eyeballs.
  - dzhiurgis 1y ago
    If only there was tamper-proof, cryptographically secure chip in everyone's pockets, coupled with a handheld device that can wirelessly "read" that chip.
    - dylan604 1y ago
      If it's in your pocket, then you might leave it in your other pants. Better to just have that chip embedded in your palm. You can even fashion it with LEDs that change color with your age. When you reach 30, you can then be told your Last Day has arrived and they are ready for Carrousel. I'm sure we can fold in plenty of other sci-fi tropes all at the same time too
      - Henchman21 1y ago
        Listen if Jenny Agutter is involved, count me in!
anon7000 1y ago
I mean this is basically the ENTIRE US health system
- LtWorf 1y ago
  Healthcare in USA is famous for many things, but making sense is not one of them.
- kube-system 1y ago
  Birthdates are frequently asked in US health settings not as a protection against attack, but as a protection against mistake. They are not worried that someone is going to come in, and steal your appointment. They are worried that someone with the same name as you might show up on the same day and the doctor might treat the wrong patient with the wrong information. This is an completely different risk profile than a form on the internet.
  - TylerE 1y ago
    This is a realer problem than some realize. I have the same name as my father (first and last, , different middle). We live at the same address. It’s a small town so we share a lot of the same doctors. We use the same pharmacy. For just a bit of extra spice are birthdays are only two days apart.
    - pixl97 1y ago
      This is how we unintentionally found a relative of my former girlfriend. Went to a small pharmacy to pick up medicine for DF, where the F is a really weird last name. They were like I just filled that, reached back and grabbed it and set it on the counter. I noticed it was the wrong address... A person she hadn't seen or talked to in 20 years had moved to this town neither of them were from and named their kid the same name.
    - InitialLastName 1y ago
      For sure, my dad lives in the same town as someone with the same (relatively uncommon) name as him who is roughly the same age. This causes confusion all the time with local services and organizations (especially since the other guy has had some, err, unflattering encounters with the legal system).
  - 1y ago

It's stupid to give out credentials over the phone, but it's stupider still to have a system where one's birth date is a credential that is supposed to remain confidential.

airstrike 1y ago

Same for SSNs

viewtransform 1y ago
What we need instead is an orb like thing that scans your eyeballs.
- dzhiurgis 1y ago
  If only there was tamper-proof, cryptographically secure chip in everyone's pockets, coupled with a handheld device that can wirelessly "read" that chip.
  - dylan604 1y ago
    If it's in your pocket, then you might leave it in your other pants. Better to just have that chip embedded in your palm. You can even fashion it with LEDs that change color with your age. When you reach 30, you can then be told your Last Day has arrived and they are ready for Carrousel. I'm sure we can fold in plenty of other sci-fi tropes all at the same time too
    - Henchman21 1y ago
      Listen if Jenny Agutter is involved, count me in!

anon7000 1y ago

I mean this is basically the ENTIRE US health system

LtWorf 1y ago
Healthcare in USA is famous for many things, but making sense is not one of them.
kube-system 1y ago
Birthdates are frequently asked in US health settings not as a protection against attack, but as a protection against mistake. They are not worried that someone is going to come in, and steal your appointment. They are worried that someone with the same name as you might show up on the same day and the doctor might treat the wrong patient with the wrong information. This is an completely different risk profile than a form on the internet.
- TylerE 1y ago
  This is a realer problem than some realize. I have the same name as my father (first and last, , different middle). We live at the same address. It’s a small town so we share a lot of the same doctors. We use the same pharmacy. For just a bit of extra spice are birthdays are only two days apart.
  - pixl97 1y ago
    This is how we unintentionally found a relative of my former girlfriend. Went to a small pharmacy to pick up medicine for DF, where the F is a really weird last name. They were like I just filled that, reached back and grabbed it and set it on the counter. I noticed it was the wrong address... A person she hadn't seen or talked to in 20 years had moved to this town neither of them were from and named their kid the same name.
  - InitialLastName 1y ago
    For sure, my dad lives in the same town as someone with the same (relatively uncommon) name as him who is roughly the same age. This causes confusion all the time with local services and organizations (especially since the other guy has had some, err, unflattering encounters with the legal system).
- 1y ago