Stealing socials

The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Murray State News.

With the advent of cyber stalking, identity theft and phishing, it is becoming increasingly hard to guard against releasing confidential information to awaiting criminals.

Even though we have complicated passwords with hyphens and asterisks, the highest privacy setting on Facebook, unlisted telephone numbers and so many filters on our e-mail accounts that e-mails from Grandma Ethel get deleted, we are still vulnerable to cyber and identity crimes without even knowing.

Ever think about how many times you have had to type in your Social Security number on the Pin System, how many times you've tried to whisper it to a secretary in Sparks Hall or how about how many times you've had to fill it out on a time card or records request form.

You might as well scrawl your name and social on the bathroom wall in Faculty Hall because it would probably be seen by less people in a day.

By using our Social Security numbers as a student identification number, the University is putting students and staff at high risk for identity theft crimes.

In addition, other personal directory information is avaliable to anyone who requests it, unless students fill out an information withholding form each semester.

Directory information includes, names, addresses, e-mail, telephone numbers, date and place of birth, fields of study, classification, dates of attendance, participation in varsity athletics and height and weight of athletes.

This Social Security breach, however, is about to change with the implementation of the new online registration system.

The Murray State News commends the University for finally following suit of the majority of other universities and not using Social Security numbers for student identification purposes.

Also, the University plans to give staff and faculty identification numbers for payroll purposes, as opposed to the system, currently in place where several forms, which pass from office-to-office all over campus, contain the names and socials of University employees.

New technologies are suppose to make life easier, but we should also know about the dangers they can create.

There really isn't any excuse for sloppy paperwork and practices when Murray State students are handing over their trust and personal information to the University.

The News encourages students to gain awareness of the dangers of identity theft and follow security measures accordingly.