Not only could you publish them in a loop, until 2011 they were not random at all. Rather, the first 3 digits behaved much like an area code - if you know where someone was born, you can pretty easily guess the first 3 digits of their SSN.
Apparently in 2011 they changed this, and now none of the numbers are significant.
Apparently in 2011 they changed this, and now none of the numbers are significant.