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Carnegie Mellon Researchers Discover SSNs Can Be Guessed
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Posted by Donster on: 2009-07-07 14:52:34 247
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By Michael Barkoviak @ DailyTech
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University discovered the Social Security numbering system has put millions of Americans at risk of identity theft.
The research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates hackers have the ability to guess up to all nine numbers of the SSN simply by using information available publicly. A person who knows someone's birth date, along with any public records that person may be in, indicates a higher ability to accurately guess a SSN.
It'd be possible for criminals to compile a list of 4,000 real SSNs simply using statistical patterns based off birth dates and other public records. The more information criminals are able to gather, of course, the more likely they will be to guess genuine SSNs.
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