Rick Forno talks to NPR about military data privacy

Military's Use Of Social Security Numbers A Vulnerability For Veterans
By Patricia Murphy – KUOW (Seattle Public Radio)

A massive data breach at the federal Office of Personnel Management has exposed the Social Security numbers and personnel records of nearly every federal worker. The implications for federal employees, military service members and the intelligence community could be extraordinary.  

But at a very basic level U.S. service members have been at high risk for identity theft for decades.

In the military your nine-digit service ID number is used for everything, whether you're checking out gym equipment or picking up your laundry. Since the late 1960s that number has been a service member’s Social Security number.

Rick Forno is the assistant director of the University of Maryland Baltimore County Center for Cybersecurity. He said using Social Security numbers as a unique identifier isn't new….

Source: KUOW