New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth | Ars Technica

New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth | Ars Technica: "the authors estimate that even a moderate-sized botnet of 10,000 machines could successfully obtain identity verifications for younger residents of West Virginia at a rate of 47 a minute.

All of that requires that the botnet master have access to date and place of birth information, and a number of commercial services will happily provide that data for a price. But the authors also point out that it may not be necessary to pay; they cite a publication in progress that indicates it's easy to harvest a lot of that information from social networking sites like Facebook."