A social security number is a nine digit number resembling "123-00-1234" which is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration of the government of the United States.
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Purpose and use
The original purpose of this number was to administer the Social Security program, but it has come to be used as also been used as a "primary key" (a de facto national ID number) for individuals within the United States.
Payroll, university student records, credit records, and driver's licenses are frequently indexed by Social Security number and hence disclosure and processing of these numbers is of major concern to privacy advocates.
The British equivalent is a National Insurance number, generally called a NI Number, although it is generally only used to administer state benefits, and has not gained the ubiquity of its US equalalent.
The Canadian equivalent is the Social Insurance number or S.I.N., it is the de facto ID number of Canadians.
Structure
The nine-digit Social Security number is divided into three parts.
Similar concepts around the world
External Links
