I just signed up for an account on the website of my newest health-care provider. As a part of the process, I was given a choice:

1. Have my password mailed to the address they had one file for me
2. Answer a series of questions drawn from “public databases” and get a password now.

Being impatient, I chose option 2. I was then asked a series of questions.

1. Which of a list of addresses (that included my mom’s) I was associated with
2. Which of a list of cars (including a truck that was my dad’s) I was associated with
3. What city my brother Tom lives in
4. What month my brother Pat was born in
5. What age range best described my mother.

Think about that. From knowing who I was (they have my name, address, and SSN at the very least), they were able to glean slightly more about my family than I even know, since I couldn’t remember when Pat was born. (There’s a lot of us. Cut me some slack.)  So I have to wait for my password to come in the mail. This happened in an automated fashion, and it took about… 7 seconds? Maybe 10?

It was disconcerting.