Safety sparks PennCard's move away from Social Security nos.

In the past few weeks, newly formatted PennCards have brought students innovative banking options, long lines in the dining halls -- and a bit more privacy. In a change that may have gone unnoticed, the new cards no longer display Social Security numbers but instead feature a new 16-digit PennID number. Though the internal computer record system is still based on Social Security numbers, the switch will drastically reduce the numbers' visibility. The decision to remove the government ID numbers from the front of the cards arose mostly from past concerns over the privacy and security risks posed by the using the numbers. Though it is legal to use Social Security numbers as identifiers, for years, that hasn't stopped people from criticizing the practice at Penn and other institutions. "University administrators have long been aware of the issue and the growing concern about it," Telecommunications Director Laurie Cousart said. "They were aware that having Social Security numbers as public identifiers was of concern to many people because of privacy issues." Once officials decided last year to roll out the new PennCards, they chose to make a simultaneous move away from using the government-issued number as a public identifier on the card. "For a long time, we've been wanting to take the Social Security number off the card," Hospitality Services Executive Director Don Jacobs said. The first six digits on the cards reflect a student's bank -- with codes for PNC Bank, the University of Pennsylvania Student Federal Credit Union and a "none of the above" option. The next eight digits form a new Penn ID number, linked to students' Social Security numbers only in University computer systems. And the last two numbers are a tracking code for the card, Cousart said. Regardless of strictly legal issues, prominently identifying people by Social Security number does carry risks, said David Jaros, legislative assistant for the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Knowing someone's Social Security number can allow fraudulent access to that person's spending and travel information, medical records, credit history or government benefits, Jaros said. In extreme cases, someone could use the number to legally assume another person's identity -- potentially opening the door to all sorts of mischief and abuse. "Accessibility of information has implications for how we behave as a society and what we can comfortably do," Jaros said. Especially with the rise of the Internet, heightened national awareness of privacy issues has focused attention on the huge amount of access to personal information a Social Security number allows. "People's concerns are if they lose their cards and somebody finds out their Social Security numbers, they'll be able to find out more info about them," University Bursar Ron Sanders said. Jacobs emphasized that the Hospitality Services staff is well aware of the potential risks linked to Social Security numbers. "When the bad guys get that number, they can do some weird things with it," he said. Jaros called the switch away from Social Security numbers as public identification "a good first step" toward protecting privacy at Penn. But for now, officials say there are no discussions underway to take any larger steps to shift the entire University data system away from reliance on Social Security numbers. Making the shift would be a "huge and expensive undertaking," Sanders said. Throughout University data systems, students' financial, academic and billing records all depend on Social Security numbers. For example, students must enter a Social Security number before registering for courses or receiving their grades on PARIS or Penn InTouch. "Everything right now is coordinated into one system," Sanders said. "It would require a large synchronized effort to make the switch."