It turns out that driver license numbers aren’t random, but hashes of your personal information. Alan De Smet has figured out the algorithms 7 states use to generate driver license numbers, and provides a web form for calculating them. He was able to get mine, which was kind of scary, although Jenny reported that hers was wrong. Scary stuff, what with identity theft being so easy these days. (via Crypto-Gram)
4 responses to “Driver License Numbers”
That’s why the custom plates are the way to go. Muahhaaa..
Uh, Brian…How many people do you know with custom driver’s license numbers? Last I checked, you could get those for your car, but not for your self…
He got mine right…
I thought hashes were designed “one-way”? That is, you can get a driver’s license number from a hashed SSN, for example, but not get the original SSN back from “unhashing” the driver’s license number. While the privacy risk with a SSN is high, what are the dangers with unwanted access to the driver’s license number?
-Alex