That's right: Hundreds of thousands of CPAs suddenly have a very personal interest in how closely personal information is secured and how easily it can go astray.

In fact, the AICPA announced that it will no longer collect Social Security numbers and is "accelerating our efforts to develop other means of uniquely identifying our members."

That's our future, too: one where we'll have to keep a tight rein on Social Security numbers -- or get rid of them entirely.

And the sooner we get a handle on those numbers, the better off we'll be.

Frank Hayes, Computerworld's senior news columnist, has covered IT for more than 20 years. Contact him at frank_hayes@computerworld.com.