Slayterbox1748

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Bush and his government were given unequivocal free reign to launch the “war on terror”. In so doing they proposed a number of constitutional reforms which subsequently were passed without much retaliation.

In 2005, Bush passed a spy program allowing the surveillance of all American’s electronic communication without warrants or congressional authorization. Almost five years later, a lawsuit brought on by two American lawyers representing a now defunct Saudi charity has brought this issue to the feet of U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker.

Now that this case is garnering national attention, it may become the first step in preventing future U.S. Presidents from adopting other ‘Terror Surveillance Programs’. One more small step in reacquiring our constitutional rights as Americans.

In today’s world the average first world person is constantly bombarded with the threatening reality that identity theft could happen to them. We are told to be extra careful when disclosing any sensitive information to other parties, and if we follow all the right precautionary steps, we will avoid being just another horrific statistic. However, just when you thought you were safe, it turns out you really aren’t.

A recent study conducted by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, has concluded that by analyzing the SSN’s of the deceased, the living’s sacred 9 digit code is now highly predictable. Analyzing a public data set called the “Death Master File” can enable hackers and criminals to see birth information and SSN’s of people who have died, and thereby deduce by using complex patterns, living persons actual Social Security Numbers with a high degree of accuracy.

Oh, and if you’re a younger reader and think you may be safe because of all this talk about dead people, think again.

Before 1988, many people didn’t apply for SSN’s until after they finished college or got their first job. However, the government ‘wisely’ stepped in, and came up with the “Enumeration At Birth” initiative, allowing parents to apply for their new born children’s numbers right away. Subsequently this allows patterns based on birthdays to be more accurate for hackers and puts all the youngin’s at higher risk.

The answer to this problem? Continue to be extra safe with your vital information, and hope that with this new study, the government will step in a second time and prohibit companies from verifying identities with the disclosure of ssn’s.