We could stop using government I'd numbers for purposes for which they were never intended. Like the U.D. Federal Government has been in the process of transitioning away from at a snail's pace, but the rest of the U.S. hasn't caught on to yet.
PGP. Register your official public key with the state. If you agree to a contract, sign it with your private key. State co-signs the key indicating with a short validity period. State publishes list of person->key somewhere. Person signs multiple subkeys for different areas of their life.
This could be made user friendly in a lot of ways... tap-to-sign with your smartwatch, boutique IOT pens, etc. We have the tech, but getting this secure system established would uphend a lot of industry players who have a vested interest in the current state of affairs.
Agree that crypto should be a major component of any SSN replacement solution, though I would prefer to see something quantum resistant for future-proofing. SSNs are supposed to last a lifetime after all.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 23.3 ms ] threadI'm partial to Estonia's solution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_identity_card
The US DoD already has such a system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Access_Card
This could be made user friendly in a lot of ways... tap-to-sign with your smartwatch, boutique IOT pens, etc. We have the tech, but getting this secure system established would uphend a lot of industry players who have a vested interest in the current state of affairs.