EsetWP-SocialSecurityNumbers20090810.pdf

## Executive Summary: This ESET article explains why Social Security Numbers (SSNs) are identifiers not authenticators, reviews research showing SSNs can be inferred from public data (birthdate, birthplace, Death Master File) in some cases, and discusses the privacy and fraud risks caused by data aggregation and the misuse of SSNs for authentication; it concludes with mitigation advice such as minimizing SSN disclosure and monitoring credit/identity usage.