Access codes and personal identification numbers–or PINs–are becoming a major pain. Try to get through a day without using one. Sadly, it is nearly impossible. You need one PIN to get cash from the ATM, another to make long-distance telephone calls when you are away from the office and yet another to log on to your company’s computer network.With scores of numbers and codes to remember, many of my friends have resorted to using one code or PIN, such as a birth date, anniversary or pet’s name. This, however, is throwing digital caution to the wind. If you use one code for everything, security pros warn, you jeopardize them all. If someone steals your PIN to your favorite online service they could potentially also get into your bank account. There is no end to the damage he or she could do.To protect ourselves, experts advise using multiple codes of totally random numbers, letters or punctuation marks–and they advise us to change these codes several times a year.Life is already too complicated for all these numbers. I have codes recorded in my digital organizer, my daybook and the really important ones buried deep inside my wallet. Maybe my friends who use one code are on to something, though. What if you could have one highly secure code or PIN that would be your digital persona for all your code-required tasks? Would that interest you?Well, it doesn’t interest technology researchers, who are strongly against such an idea. They say such an approach offers too much opportunity to build databases that would link enormous amounts of personal information with the PIN as the digital conduit. But others are moving ahead. One group in California is calling for the issuance of digital smart cards to initially be used for commercial transactions and e-government activities like voting. And one of the world’s largest credit card companies has tackled the problem from the polar opposite end of “one PIN per person” by assigning “use once and then throw away” codes for purchases made over the Internet. This seemingly wasteful approach underscores an important point: There are hundreds of billions of unique numbers available.In the coming decade, more daily activities will become digitized, resulting in more access codes and PINS to remember.If people like you and I want one PIN or code for our digital identity, technologists will have to figure out a way to make it happen–and to keep those codes safe. Related content BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to power a sustainable enterprise on Microsoft Cloud In this eBook, we’ll follow the journey of Amal Skye, a fictitious woman who is committed to living in a way that preserves the planet for the future —and how businesses like Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft are making that possi By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe