And not all 9-digit numbers are used, so there are fewer than a billion.
Comment on 2.9 billion hit in one of the largest data breaches ever — full names, addresses and SSNs exposed
solrize@lemmy.world 4 months ago
There are only 1 billion SSNs possible with 9 digits, and at most around 350M living people who have them (the US population). This breach is international but SSN is a US thing.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
prime_number_314159@lemmy.world 4 months ago
A lot of businesses use the last 4 digits separately for some purposes, which means that even if it’s salted, you are only getting 110,000 total options, which is trivial to run through.
catloaf@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Do TINs overlap with SSNs? Because businesses and non-citizen taxpayers have TINs instead of SSNs, but they’re used just the same.
solrize@lemmy.world 4 months ago
This I don’t know. I remember reading that around 70%(?) of SSNs have been allocated, and there are enough left for a few decades. No idea whether corporation TINs come from that. I believe non-citizen taxpayers get similar SSNs to citizens. IDK if they pay into social security and collect benefits the same way.
JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
Social security number specifically might be, but a unique number tied to you that is often used as identification when it really shouldn’t isn’t, it’s a shitshow that has been implemented in many countries around the world. en.wikipedia.org/…/National_identification_number