Leaking Data
December, 1998
In 1935, when the U.S. government began its Social Security program, the nine-digit number assigned to each taxpayer seemed innocent enough. Today, citizens are asked to provide the number not only to claim benefits but to obtain a tax refund, health insurance, credit and, soon, a driver's license.The transformation of the Social Security number into a de facto national ID is an example of function creep. Collected for one purpose, data are eventually used for another. Information is confidentia...
