**Part 1: Transaction Architecture**

The questions in this tool are intended to elicit information about the
security risk of implementing a SSA transaction over a media in which
there is no personal contact between a SSA customer and a SSA employee.
The specific media addressed by this tool are the Internet, the
telephone, and the postal mail. Before answering the questions, it is
important to have a clear picture of the purpose of, and the information
processed by, the transaction. Please provide a short description of
your understanding of the purpose of the transaction and the information
that it processes.

Transaction Description

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  Pre-conditions          Processing              Post-conditions

                                                  
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

**Please draw the simplest possible diagram that shows your
understanding of the flow of information within the transaction.**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="8.7in"
height="5.4840277777777775in"}**Transaction Diagram**

**Part II: Transaction Authentication Risk Assessment Questionnaire**

**Instructions**

-   For the purposes of this survey, the term "customer" refers to any
    non-SSA person or entity including but not limited to:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Title II beneficiaries and Title XVI recipients or their
    representatives,

-   claimants for any type of benefits,

-   wage earners requesting a Social Security Statement,

-   employers supplying AWR data,

-   state Disability Determination Services,

-   state Social Services or Workmen's Compensation agencies,

-   other Federal agencies, etc.

-   Answer questions 1 and 3. If only the first possible answer in each
    question applies, STOP! The transaction poses no measurable risk and
    further analysis is not required. If either question includes other
    answers, complete the remaining 21 questions

-   If you finish the survey, but feel that additional information is
    relevant, please document it on the remainder of this page

***Additional Information or Comments***

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 1.  Please check the 2 most important services that SSA will   |     |
|     provide within the scope of this transaction.              |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Publish publicly available information                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Collect new personal information                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Modify personal information                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Change SSA benefits processing                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Terminate SSA benefits                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Collect benefits accounting information                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Collect contributions accounting information                   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Disclose personal information                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Initiate SSA benefits                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 2.  Please check the top 3 benefits to SSA of providing this   |     |
|     transaction.                                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Faster and more timely collection of information               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| More customer participation                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Customer satisfaction                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| More efficient record keeping                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| More accurate records                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Improved productivity within SSA                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Faster and more timely payment of benefits                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 3.  Please check the single most SSA-sensitive kind of         |     |
|     information that will be collected, displayed or changed   |     |
|     within the scope of one instance of this transaction.      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Publicly available                                             |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| One individual\'s record that is subject to the Privacy Act    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Many individuals records that are subject to the Privacy Act   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Information covered by a FOIA Exemption                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 4.  Please check the 1 kind of compromise of SSA-sensitive     |     |
|     information that is both most likely and most harmful to   |     |
|     SSA for this transaction.                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Disclosure                                                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Modification of record(s)/misuse/fraud                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Denial of Access                                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Destruction of records                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 5.  How difficult would it be to recover from the effect(s) of |     |
|     the compromise checked in question 4?                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Easy                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Hard                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Impossible                                                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 6.  Please check the top 2 ways that SSA could *most likely*   |     |
|     be harmed if the kind of compromise checked in question 4  |     |
|     occurred. The answer should focus on immediate or          |     |
|     near-term consequences.                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Nuisance                                                       |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Fraud                                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Legal liability                                                |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Embarassment                                                   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Loss of public trust                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Loss of Congressional trust                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Loss of Executive trust                                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 7.  Please check the top 1 benefit to the customer of using    |     |
|     this transaction.                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| More convenient physical access to complete the transaction    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Expanded access to SSA (7 days a week/24 hours a day)          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Sense of involvement in the process                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Ability to directly transfer the transaction data to or from a |     |
| customer database                                              |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 8.  Please check the single most customer-sensitive kind of    |     |
|     information that will be collected, displayed or changed   |     |
|     within the scope of this transaction?                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Information that enables identity theft                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Information that enables benefits theft or interruption        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Location                                                       |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Economic status                                                |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Health status                                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Benefits status                                                |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 9.  Please check the 1 kind of SSA customer that is supposed   |     |
|     to use this transaction.                                   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Anyone                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Known customer/non-beneficiary                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Current Beneficiary                                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Employer                                                       |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| US Federal Agency                                              |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| State/local government                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Foreign government                                             |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 10. Please check the single kind of compromise of              |     |
|     customer-sensitive information that is both most likely    |     |
|     and most harmful to the customer for this transaction.     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Disclosure                                                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Modification of record(s)/misuse/fraud                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Denial of Access                                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Destruction of records                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 11. Please check the top 2 ways that the customer could be     |     |
|     harmed if the kind of compromise checked in question 10    |     |
|     occurred.                                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Nuisance                                                       |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| SSA would stop paying benefits                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Identity theft                                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| SSA benefits are diverted or stolen                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Revelation of private information (other than identity)        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Exposure to legal liability                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 12. Please check the top 2 reasons for an attacker to want to  |     |
|     compromise this transaction                                |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Economic gain                                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Beneficiary-specific malice                                    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| SSA-specific malice                                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Government-specific malice                                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| General Internet \"hooliganism\" or malice                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 13. Please check the 2 most likely sources of attacks against  |     |
|     this transaction?                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Casual Cracker                                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Political Cracker                                              |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Malicious Individual                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Investigative Media                                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Opportunistic Criminal                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Long-term criminal activity or organized crime                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Foreign Intelligence Service                                   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 14. Who initiates the transaction? (Check One)                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| SSA                                                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Known customer                                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Unknown customer                                               |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 15. How frequently will the transaction be used by, or on      |     |
|     behalf of, a specific customer/beneficary? (Check One)     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Hourly                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Daily                                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Weekly                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Monthly                                                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Quarterly                                                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Yearly                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Once                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 16. How much contact will SSA have had with the                |     |
|     customer/beneficiary in the context of [any]{.underline}   |     |
|     SSA transactions prior to this transaction? (Check One)    |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| None                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Occasional                                                     |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Regular                                                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 17. How often will one customer/beneficiary use this           |     |
|     transaction for its intended purpose? (Check One)          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Scheduled                                                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Irregular                                                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| One time only                                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 18. Please check the 2 most important mechanisms that are in   |     |
|     place to detect the most customer-harmful compromise of    |     |
|     this transaction (as identified in question 10)?           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Automated alert process                                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Manual alert process                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| SSA recontact                                                  |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Customer complaints                                            |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Third party information                                        |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 19. How difficult would it be to undo (i.e., roll back) the    |     |
|     effect of this transaction on SSA databases? (Check One)   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Easy                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Hard                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 20. As currently designed, how long will it take to detect     |     |
|     that an invocation of this transaction has been            |     |
|     compromised? (Check One)                                   |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Hours                                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Days                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Weeks                                                          |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Months                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Year                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Longer                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 21. If an attacker were to be caught, prosecuted, and          |     |
|     convicted for causing the worst possible compromise of     |     |
|     this transaction, what is the harshest punishment          |     |
|     permitted by law? (Check One)                              |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Prison                                                         |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Fine                                                           |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Loss of Access                                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| No action                                                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+

+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| 22. If an attacker were to be caught causing the worst         |     |
|     possible compromise of this transaction, what would be the |     |
|     most likely official reaction? (Check One)                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Prosecution, leading to prison                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Prosecution, leading to a fine                                 |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| Denial of access to SSA Internet services                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+
| No action                                                      |     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+-----+