One of the items that have been totally mishandled by the federal government in the roll out of Obamacare is the security of the insurance exchanges. Washington is responsible for nearly two-thirds of these exchanges, and they are easy targets for hackers and identity thieves. Think about it.
First of all, in order to get insurance, a person will need to give over a whole host of important information. This includes the applicant's 1) full name; 2) social security number; 3) home address; 4) employment information; 5) income details; 6) some asset information like car and home ownership and bank accounts; and 7) details used for identification. Let me amplify a bit about item seven, the identification details. When one sets up an account at the exchanges, there will be passwords, user names and other details like mother's maiden name that get taken by the exchange to improve security. The vast majority of people use the same user name and password for most sites. This information is more than enough for any identity thief to steal nearly anything he or she wants.
Second, the exchanges are going into operation even though the security systems that are supposed to protect the sites from hackers and other identity thieves are not finished and tested. Even worse, the fact of this inadequate security has been well publicized so that the entire community of hackers and thieves is well aware of it. The federal government is serving up the critical personal information about millions of Americans to hackers and thieves.
The idea behind the exchanges was to help individuals, not to open them up to identity theft. Nevertheless, because of incompetence by the federal government, people will be subject to having the identities stolen if they use the exchanges to buy insurance.
I know that president Obama has said that he will not negotiate a delay in the roll out of the individual mandate, but his refusal to be reasonable is likely to lead to enormous problems for some folks who just try to comply with the law by using the exchanges.
America deserves better.
First of all, in order to get insurance, a person will need to give over a whole host of important information. This includes the applicant's 1) full name; 2) social security number; 3) home address; 4) employment information; 5) income details; 6) some asset information like car and home ownership and bank accounts; and 7) details used for identification. Let me amplify a bit about item seven, the identification details. When one sets up an account at the exchanges, there will be passwords, user names and other details like mother's maiden name that get taken by the exchange to improve security. The vast majority of people use the same user name and password for most sites. This information is more than enough for any identity thief to steal nearly anything he or she wants.
Second, the exchanges are going into operation even though the security systems that are supposed to protect the sites from hackers and other identity thieves are not finished and tested. Even worse, the fact of this inadequate security has been well publicized so that the entire community of hackers and thieves is well aware of it. The federal government is serving up the critical personal information about millions of Americans to hackers and thieves.
The idea behind the exchanges was to help individuals, not to open them up to identity theft. Nevertheless, because of incompetence by the federal government, people will be subject to having the identities stolen if they use the exchanges to buy insurance.
I know that president Obama has said that he will not negotiate a delay in the roll out of the individual mandate, but his refusal to be reasonable is likely to lead to enormous problems for some folks who just try to comply with the law by using the exchanges.
America deserves better.
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