How the Security of Social Security Numbers Can Be Improved Using Cryptography Techniques (Case: Hashing Algorithms)

At the dawn of the 21st century, the world has experienced an exponential technological progress, and with the birth of internet, all sectors in different domains were oriented to this innovative technology to ensure the smooth running of their business given the different advantages that this technology offers. Given the large amount of data circulating and its importance, several cyber threats have appeared that targeted sensitive personal data and attempted to invade the private lives of individuals. The Social Security Number (SSN) is one of the most coveted pieces of information given its importance and its direct link with key institutions of society such as banks, health establishments, the Social Security Administration(SSA), etc. The objective of this research is to study and highlight the different aspects of the exchange of SSNs between the SSN owner and the different administrations in order to establish a system capable of making this transaction more secure by using a cryptographic hash function suitable for this situation. The results of this research will determine the critical role of hashing in cybersecurity and demonstrate how SSN security can be enhanced by moving from traditional exchange systems to an automated exchange system that will be introduced in this research.