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IS&T Spotlight:

Safeguards for Social Security Numbers

In response to concerns about identity theft and fraud, MIT has been escalating efforts across campus to better protect the sensitive information the Institute collects, electronically and on paper.

The program to protect Personally Identifying Information (PII) was launched last December. Its initial focus is to ascertain all the places at MIT where Social Security numbers (SSNs) have been collected or recorded – computer systems as well as paper files.

In addition, the program is working to reduce MIT’s risks by limiting the number of places where SSNs reside, reducing the number of people with access to SSNs, and ensuring that SSNs needed for business purposes are effectively protected.

Since the data collection effort encompasses the whole campus, members of the PII Team are available to talk with groups or individuals about different protection methods, from using cross-cut shredders to replacing SSNs with MIT ID numbers on forms.

The PII Team is interested in hearing from community members. If you encounter SSNs, especially in unexpected places, or want to request a presentation, contact the team at pii-protect@mit.edu. To learn more, see the Protecting Sensitive Information: Initiatives page [certificates required].