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It's wild seeing people in the US say, "Really? Who would ever consider giving their SSN to join *any* website online? Giving that info to strangers who might misuse it, or where it could be hacked?" The contrast with what's normal in South Korea is kind of mind-blowing.Permalink On twitter.com
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Over here, you must give the equivalent of your SSN to: • get a domestic portal site account (i.e. equivalent of a Google acct) • do any online shopping at all • open a phone account • sign up for local MMORPGs (to avoid the midnight child locks) • comment on news storiesPermalink On twitter.com
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• register with some apps • access the free wifi in some cafes • sign up for bloody anything at all online Seriously: it's basically a public-facing ID. You use it joining practically any site. They check a national database where your name and ID number have to match.Permalink On twitter.com
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But it's also your one and only serious national ID for many things. And if people get it, identity theft can really mess up your life, albeit (normally) temporarily. Which is to say, it's a terrible policy. Terrible *government* policy, it's worth noting.Permalink On twitter.com
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Experts have been saying so for years. 7 years ago, almost half the country got hacked. (Including the President herself.) They considered having to issue *everyone* a new ID number. apnews.com/article/01fc53bf34b6471d9a35c10c78b36fec (They didn't. And we still hand out our ID will-nilly. Huh.)Permalink On twitter.com
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From the above article: [["Resident registration numbers' usage across different sectors made them 'master keys' for hackers to open every door and steal whole packages of personal information from unassuming victims," said researcher Geum Chang-ho...]]Permalink On twitter.com
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[["Even if their numbers are leaked, people are unable to change them, so hackers are constantly trying to obtain these numbers and are managing it easily."]] Whatever other changes were made, this remains basically the same. We still hand out that ID number *all* the time.Permalink On twitter.com
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I could say much more about why this system exists, and how cynical its continuation is, and how revolting it's been to see people eagerly climb up onto the corpse of every celebrity who commits suicide in order to push for its expansion. But it won't do much good.Permalink On twitter.com
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Now, to be fair, online banking security here is *way* more involved, to the point where North American online banking security looks laughable in comparison. But that's also maybe necessary since many practice poor online identity security—in part *because* of the ID policy.On twitter.com
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Anyway, I find the cognitive dissonance funny: I'm in a society where we're essentially forced to do this constantly... so the horrified reactions jolt me into remembering both how bananas this system actually is, and how it's not at all normal elsewhere.Permalink On twitter.com