> Definitely not. Damage is done to customers

What is the evidence for this?

The cost of identity fraud clocks in around $20bn a year [1]. A good fraction of that cost gets picked up (and thus managed) by financial institutions and merchants.

I’m sceptical we could harden our nation’s systems for a few billion a year.

[1] https://javelinstrategy.com/research/2024-identity-fraud-stu...