The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added an extra layer of security for customers when they interact online using the “My Social Security” suite of services. My Social Security is a section of the socielsecurity.gov web site that allows you to create an account and view your contributions to your retirement/disability account, as well as estimated payments if you become disabled. All My Social Secuirty account holders are required to use their cell phone , in addition to their username and password, as an additional authentication factor during online registration and every sign in.
They implemented multi-factor authentication to comply with Executive Order 13681, which requires federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services. This is just one of the ways they “ensure the safety and security of the resources entrusted to them.”
Now, all new and current my Social Security account holders will need to provide a cell phone number able to receive text messages. People will not be able to access their personal my Social Security account if they do not have a cell phone or do not wish to provide the cell phone number. They expect to provide additional options in the future, dependent upon requirements of national guidelines currently being revised.