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thedrifter
10-10-06, 07:39 AM
October 09, 2006
Congress wants Social Security numbers off IDs

By Rick Maze
Staff writer

The days of having a Social Security number on a military identification card seem to be numbered; Congress has given the Pentagon just six months to design a plan to remove the number in the hope that it will reduce the risk of identity theft.

By itself, a Social Security number does not make someone vulnerable to having someone assume their identity but combined with other information — particularly birth dates and addresses — the risk of ID theft increases.


Many states that once used Social Security numbers as the primary means of identification, such having the number appear on a driver’s license, have changed their laws to omit it or to allow another number to be used for those worried about their Social Security number being public.

The Defense Department has been working for several years on a new form of military identification that would not include a visible Social Security number, but the number continues to be used.

A provision of the 2007 defense authorization bill passed by Congress on Sept. 30 and sent to the White House on Oct. 5 requires a report 180 days from when the bill is signed on eliminating Social Security account numbers from all military identification cards. The report asks for the Defense Department to have an ID card that not only doesn’t display the number, but does not contain it on the magnetic strip.

The bill contains other privacy issues. Another provision asks for a separate report, this one within three months, about what efforts are being made by the Pentagon to secure information on prospective military recruits. That information is used by the department’s Joint Advertising and Market Research program to help plan recruiting.

The report asks for the Defense Department to describe steps taken to prevent unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of the personal information, either by loss or theft.