White House Looking at Replacing Social Security Numbers

(Bloomberg) -- The White House floated the idea of replacing the use of Social Security numbers as personal identifiers in the wake of the Equifax Inc. cyber hack. Using Social Security numbers to confirm personal identity is a “flawed system,” and has “outlived" its usefulness, White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce said at a conference today sponsored by the Washington Post. The Administration is looking into “what would be a better system” that utilizes modern technologies, such as a "public-private key."

The comments came as former Equifax CEO Richard Smith testified to Congress today about the breach.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Romaine Bostick in New York at rbostick@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Romaine Bostick at rbostick@bloomberg.net, Alec D.B. McCabe