WASHINGTON–In light of the recent hacking of credit rating firm Equifax which stole the personal data of 145 million Americans, the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator has confirmed that the administration is making plans to phase out the Social Security number system, which was thoroughly compromised in the Equifax hack.
The remark made by Rob Joyce, the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator on Nov. 9 during the Defense One Summit, an annual conference on American and global security sponsored by the Defense One website, could be the first ever official confirmation of ongoing plans to replace the Social Security number. Joyce, a special assistant to the president and a top official in the Trump administration’s cybersecurity team, is well-known for his prior criticism of the Social Security number system, and has previously hinted that the system has outlived its usefulness.
