Upgrade hacker-friendly ID system
Last month’s announcement by Equifax that its consumer-credit database suffered a catastrophic hacking attack meant that nearly half of all Americans had their Social Security numbers and vital financial information exposed to theft. The threat of massive-scale identity theft is very real.
Equifax is only the latest of multiple, large-scale datahacking incidents. It’s time for the federal government to come up with a more secure identification code to protect citizens. White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce also has concluded that the Social Security numbering system has “outlived its usefulness.”
Think about your own Social Security number and the hundreds of times you’ve shared it with companies, schools, doctors, government agencies or other institutions that insisted they had a legitimate need for it. Always with the promise to keep it confidential, of course. Older Americans can recall when their Social Security numbers were used on their driver’s license or university IDs. There were those nine digits, for all to see.
Really industrious hackers can find Social Security numbers by accessing old court documents. No one is safe; it comes down to whose number hits on the hacking roulette wheel of chance.
Joyce wants the government to consider more modern means of providing citizens with a unique code that can be used for transactions but also remain protected from hackers. He calls it a “modern cryptographic identifier.”
The longer the nation delays such an update, the greater the vulnerability we all will face. The potential losses from the Equifax breach alone could wind up in the billions of dollars. The cost of modernizing Social Security’s numbering system also wouldn’t be cheap.
Hackers around the world are betting the government will continue delaying and dithering. Sadly, they’re probably right. buses in Ohio. The greatest risk to children is when they are outside of a stopped school bus and a motorist attempts to pass.
The “Stop on Red” campaign is aimed at helping raise awareness and increase the safety of everyone on the road. So, it’s a good time for all of us to go over the rules.
Remember, it is illegal to pass a school bus stopped to unload or load children. (Those citied are subject to fines up to $500, as well as the loss of driving privileges.) From either direction, stop at least 10 feet from a stopped bus.
This also is a good time for parents to remind their children to pay attention while getting on and off the school bus. They should cross the street where the bus driver can see them and wait until the driver signals that it is safe to cross. From the sidewalk, children should wait until the bus is fully stopped and they are given the OK from the driver to board.
Please, take your time while on the road and proceed with caution so everyone can get where they are going safely.