Social Security number code cracked?

The government-issued numbers may not be that secure. Two researchers say they've figured out the code, and identity thieves might not be far behind.

By The Associated Press

For all the concern about identity theft, researchers say there's a surprisingly easy way for the technology-savvy to figure out the precious nine digits of Americans' Social Security numbers.
"It's good that we found it before the bad guys," Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh said of the method for predicting the numbers.
Acquisti and Ralph Gross report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they were able to make the predictions using data available in public records as well as information such as birth dates cheerfully provided on social networks such as Facebook.
For people born after 1988, when the government began issuing numbers at birth, the researchers were able to identify, in a single attempt, the first five Social Security digits for 44% of individuals. And they got all nine digits for 8.5% of those people in fewer than 1,000 attempts.
For smaller states, their accuracy was considerably higher than in larger ones.
Acquisti said in a telephone interview that he has sent the findings to the Social Security Administration and other government agencies with a suggestion they adopt a more random system for assigning numbers.

Social Security spokesman Mark Lassiter said the public should not be alarmed by the report "because there is no foolproof method for predicting a person's Social Security number."
"The suggestion that Mr. Acquisti has cracked a code for predicting an SSN is a dramatic exaggeration," Lassiter said via e-mail.
However, he added: "For reasons unrelated to this report, the agency has been developing a system to randomly assign SSNs. This system will be in place next year."
The researchers say their report omits some details to make sure they aren't providing criminals a blueprint for obtaining the numbers.
The predictability of the numbers increases the risk of identity theft, which cost Americans almost $50 billion in 2007 alone, Acquisti said.

A problem in the battle against identity thieves is that many businesses use Social Security numbers as passwords or for other forms of authentication, something that was not anticipated when Social Security was devised in the 1930s. The Social Security Administration has long cautioned educational, financial and health care institutions against using the numbers as personal identifiers.
"In a world of wired consumers, it is possible to combine information from multiple sources to infer data that is more personal and sensitive than any single piece of original information alone," Acquisti said, warning against providing too much data on social-networking sites.
Acquisti, who researches the economics of privacy, said he got interested in what could be learned from easily available sources by looking at social networks, which he termed "a great experiment in self-revelation."
People were willing to include their birth dates and hometowns, he said, and he already knew that was part of the information used in issuing Social Security numbers.
So the researchers turned to the Social Security Administration's "Death Master File," which lists the numbers of people who have died. The purpose of making that file public is to prevent impostors from assuming the Social Security numbers of deceased people.
But by plotting the data for people listed on the file between 1973 and 2003, the researchers were able to develop patterns for number issuance.

Marathon man Roger Federer makes history

Wimbledon, England -- Roger Federer hoisted the trophy and celebrated making Grand Slam history, a year removed from an epic five-set final when he left Wimbledon a broken man, his title ripped away and his aura of invincibility shattered.
Federer waged another five-set marathon Sunday and left as the holder of the most prestigious record in tennis. This time, the winner's trophy belonged to him, with the No. 1 ranking in his grasp again and his reputation enhanced as perhaps the greatest player in history.
Federer won his record 15th Grand Slam title, outlasting Andy Roddick for his sixth Wimbledon championship in a match that went to 30 games in the final set.

Federer served a career-high 50 aces and overcame Roddick, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14, to break the record of major titles he shared with Pete Sampras.
"I'm happy I broke the record here because this is always the tournament that meant the most to me," Federer said. "It definitely feels like coming full circle, starting it here and ending it here."
The match finally ended after four hours and 16 minutes when Federer broke for the first time all day, with Roddick missing on a forehand.
Federer jumped high in celebration, punched the air and whacked the net with his racket. Roddick tossed his racket to the side and the two men shared a hug at the net.
Federer kissed the trophy and brought it close to his chest.
Watching from the front row of the Royal Box was Sampras, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who flew in from California, his first appearance at the All England Club since playing this tournament for the last time in 2002. Also on hand were Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.
"It's not really one of those goals you set as a little boy, but man, it's been quite a career and quite a month," said Federer, who saved four set points in the second-set tiebreaker to avoid falling behind 2-0 in sets. "It feels amazing, but this is not why I'm playing tennis to break all sort of different records. But it's definitely one of the greatest ones to have."
Turning to Sampras, Federer said: "Thanks very much for coming. I know it's a long way, but you're a member, man, we like to see you here. It's such a pleasure to play in front of such greats legends."
Roddick said: "Sorry Pete, I tried to hold him off."
The historic impact of the match hit home when Sampras arrived after the third game of the first set. Accompanied by his wife, Bridgette Wilson, he sat next to Spanish great Manolo Santana and a few seats from Laver and Borg. He wore sunglasses, a gray suit and light blue shirt and tie.

Shooting unveils very different sides of McNair

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Steve McNair earned the respect of his fellow NFL players for shaking off defenders and injuries. That same blue-collar playing style won the love of fans amazed at how the quarterback kept showing up for work - and winning.
He endeared himself more with his charity work. Not just from the checks he handed out, but for throwing himself into the efforts, like he did when loading boxes onto tractor-trailers bound for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Publicly, McNair was a happily married man and proud father of four sons who split his time between his Mississippi farm and a home in Music City, where celebrities are cherished, not hassled.
But when he was found shot to death on the Fourth of July with his 20-year-old girlfriend dead nearby, a darker side of his private life was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
"People have certain things that they do in life," said McNair's longtime friend Robert Gaddy, who called 911. "We don't need to look on the situation at this time (but) on the fact we just lost a great member of society."
Even McNair's longtime agent said he didn't know about the former quarterback's relationship with Saleh Kazemi until news broke of the deaths. Now police call McNair the victim of homicide, though they aren't yet ready to label Kazemi's death a suicide despite her single bullet wound to the head.
"As good as he was on the football field, that couldn't touch the person," agent Bus Cook said Sunday, still shaken by McNair's death. "I mean it just couldn't."
Hints of a problem with alcohol surfaced in May 2003 when a Nashville police officer pulled McNair over on suspicion of drunk driving. Police said the quarterback's blood alcohol content was .18 percent — well over Tennessee's legal limit. He also was charged for having a 9mm weapon with him, but all the charges were later dropped.
McNair was charged with drunken driving in 2007 because he let his brother-in-law drive his pickup truck. Those charges were later dropped when the DUI charge against the brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving.
And McNair could have been charged again Thursday night when the same officer who arrested him in 2003 stopped a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by Kazemi and registered to both her and McNair. Kazemi was arrested on a DUI charge, and he was allowed to leave in a taxi.

Ex-NFL QB McNair found shot to death in condo

Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, whose most noted drive was the final one of the 2000 Super Bowl, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head Saturday afternoon in a downtown condominium. Police said a woman was also shot dead.

McNair was 36 and played 13 seasons before retiring in April 2008. Police spokesman Don Aaron said officials tentatively identified the woman, but did not release her name. He confirmed she wasn't McNair's wife, Mechelle.
He said authorities were still investigating the shootings and that no suspects were in custody.
"I don't have any answers for you now as to what's happened, who's responsible," Aaron said.
"There are persons who were around the complex today, visitors, who have been taken to headquarters for questioning, just to see what they know, what they may have seen," he said.
Aaron said officers went to the scene after receiving a call about injured persons inside the condo.
"When police officers arrived in response to that call, they found two individuals who had been shot to death inside the residence," he said.
The condominium is one that McNair was known to frequent, but police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said she didn't know if he was the owner.
About 50 people crowded just beyond police tape outside the complex in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood, some wearing Titans hats. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans' stadium.

In June, McNair opened a restaurant near the Tennessee State University campus. It was closed Saturday evening, but had become a small memorial, where flowers, candles and notes had been placed outside the door.
On the restaurant's windows were messages: "We will miss you Steve" and "We love you Steve."
A note attached to a small blue teddy bear read, "We will never forget you, Steve. Once a Titan, always a Titan."
McNair, a four-time Pro Bowler, led the Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens before retiring in April 2008.
His most noted drive, the last one in that Super Bowl, came when he led the Titans 87 yards in the final minute and 48 seconds, only to come up a yard short of the tying touchdown. Kevin Dyson caught his 9-yard pass, but was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Rams' Mike Jones.
McNair accounted for all of Tennessee's yards in that drive, throwing for 48 yards and rushing for 14. The rest of the yardage came on penalties against the Rams. Before that, he brought the Titans back from a 16-0 deficit to tie the game.
"We don't know the details, but it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the families involved," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
"We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair's passing today," Titans owner Bud Adams said in a statement. "He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl."
"If you were going to draw a football player, the physical part, the mental part, everything about being a professional, he is your guy," former Ravens and Titans teammate Samari Rolle said. "I can't even wrap my arms around it. It is a sad, sad day. The world lost a great man today."

McNair became a nationally known college football star playing for Alcorn State, a Division I-AA school in his home state. His performance in the Southwestern Athletic Conference was so dominant, he became a Heisman Trophy contender and national media flocked to the school in Lorman, Miss., to get look at "Air McNair." He still holds the Division I-AA (now known as Football Championship Subdivision) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823).
McNair began his NFL career in 1995 with the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Titans, and finished with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. McNair played with pain for several years, and the injuries ultimately forced him to retire.
"On the field, there isn't player that was as tough as him, especially at the quarterback position," the Ravens' Derrick Mason said. "What I have seen him play through on the field, and what he dealt with during the week to get ready for a game, I have never known a better teammate."
During a five-game stretch at the end of the 2002 season, McNair was so bruised he couldn't practice. But he started all five games and won them, leading the Titans to an 11-5 finish and a berth in the AFC championship game for the second time in four seasons.
McNair played all 16 games in 2006, his first season in Baltimore, and guided the Ravens to a 13-3 record. But he injured his groin during the season opener last season and never regained the form that put him in those Pro Bowls.
"I am deeply saddened to learn of today's tragic news regarding the death of Steve McNair. He was a player who I admired a great deal," said New England Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese, who was GM of the Titans when McNair played for them. "He was a tremendous leader and an absolute warrior. He felt like it was his responsibility to lead by working hard every day, no matter what."
Titans coach Jeff Fisher was out of the country, taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour to Iraq.
Ozzie Newsome, Ravens executive vice president and general manager, said he immediately thought of McNair's four sons.
"This is so, so sad. We immediately think of his family, his boys. They are all in our thoughts and prayers," he said "What we admired most about Steve when we played against him was his competitive spirit, and we were lucky enough to have that with us for two years. He is one of the best players in the NFL over the last 20 years."

Kobe vs. MJ: Obama weighs in on great debate

President Barack Obama was asked straight out on Thursday: Kobe or Michael?
As in, who's the best? Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a four-time NBA champion? Or the basketball legend to whom he is most often compared, Michael Jordan, who retired as a six-time champ with the Chicago Bulls and is widely regarded as the best player of all time?
"Oh, Michael," Obama answered in an interview with The Associated Press.
"I mean, Kobe's terrific. Don't get me wrong," Obama said. "But I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."
Obama, a basketball fan who hails from Chicago, is certainly no Lakers hater.
He picked Bryant's team to defeat the Orlando Magic in the finals this year, and he was right.

Girl, 2, strangled by pet python, police say

OXFORD, Fla. - A 2-year-old girl apparently was strangled Wednesday by her family's 8-foot-long pet Burmese python, officials said.
Shaunia Hare was already dead when paramedics arrived at about 10 a.m. ET, Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said.
Charles Jason Darnell, the snake's owner and the boyfriend of Shaunia's mother, said he discovered the snake missing from its terrarium and went to the girl's room, where he found it on the girl and bite marks on her head, Caruthers said.

Darnell, 32, said he stabbed the snake until he was able to pry the child away, and then called 911.
"The baby's dead!" the sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher in a recording. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby."
"She got out of the cage last night and got into the baby's crib and strangled her to death," the caller said.
Authorities removed the snake from the home Wednesday afternoon. Once outside the small, tan home, the snake was placed in a bag and then inside a dog crate. The snake was still alive.
Owner did not have permitDarnell did not have a permit for the snake, which would be a second-degree misdemeanor, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
He has not been charged, but Caruthers said investigators were looking into whether there was child neglect or if any other laws were broken.
NBC affiliate WESH reported that Darnell told deputies he left the snake in a bag in the terrarium just before the family went to sleep.
The python was one of two snakes in the home — the other is a 6-foot-long boa constrictor. Both snakes are alive, Carruthers said.
Two other children also lived there, WESH reported.
The Humane Society of the United States said including Wednesday’s death, at least 12 people have been killed in the U.S. by pet pythons since 1980, including five children.
Pythons are not native to Florida, but some residents keep them as pets, especially Burmese pythons, which can grow to more than 15 feet and weigh more than 150 pounds.

Jobless rate rises to 26-year high

U.S. economy shed a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June

Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy.
The Labor Department report, released Thursday, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they feel certain the economy is on solid ground.
June's payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected and average weekly earnings dropped to the lowest level in nearly a year.

However, the rise in the unemployment rate from 9.4 percent in May wasn't as sharp as the expected 9.6 percent. Still, many economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent this year, and keep rising into next year, before falling back.
All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.
If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994.
"We were on the road of things getting less bad in the jobs market, and that has been temporarily waylaid," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "But this doesn't change my view that the recession will end later this year. We're probably two months away."

On Wall Street, the employment news pulled stocks lower.
Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.5 million jobs.
As the downturn bites into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive. Those include holding down workers' hours and freezing or cutting pay.
The average work week in June fell to 33 hours, the lowest on records dating to 1964.
Layoffs in May turned out to smaller, 322,000, versus the 345,000 first reported. But job cuts in April were a bit deeper — 519,000 versus 504,000, according to government data.
Even with higher pace of job cuts in June, the report indicates that the worst of the layoffs have passed. The deepest job cuts of the recession came in January, when 741,000 jobs vanished, the most in any month since 1949.