The massive Social Security number breach is actually a good thing

A couple weeks ago, I got an unnerving message from my bank. My Social Security number had been compromised in an alleged data breach. I hung on to the word “alleged” as I tried to figure out if it was real. Now I know: It’s real.

As many as 272 million Social Security numbers are floating around hacker forums after someone stole them from a Florida-based background check company called National Public Data, which is owned by an actor and retired sheriff’s deputy named Salvatore “Sal” Verini.