Following push-back from members of the public who don’t have cell phones—and apparently have no desire to—the SSA has backed off a policy to use text messaging notifications as an authenticating factor for those wishing to use certain of its online services.
The SSA, like other agencies, eyed that requirement as an additional security step to better guard personally identifying information; such notifications are increasingly common in the online environment for financial services, for example. However, negative response to the SSA policy was almost immediate, including a letter from the chair and ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee urging SSA to repeal the policy.
“While the Social Security Administration should develop ways to enhance security to prevent fraud, they must take into account the needs of seniors and ensure that they have easy access to their accounts,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine in a statement.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., added that “we’ve got to ensure seniors have easy and secure access to their accounts without having to jump through advanced technological hoops.”