Editing Personal identification number (section)

{{Short description|PIN code}}
{{Redirect|PIN code|PIN code in Indian addresses|Postal Index Number}}
A '''personal identification number''' ('''PIN'''; sometimes [[RAS syndrome|redundantly]] a '''PIN code''' or '''PIN number''') is a numeric (sometimes alpha-numeric) [[passcode]] used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system.

The PIN has been the key to facilitating the [[private data]] exchange between different data-processing centers in computer networks for financial institutions, governments, and enterprises.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Higgs |first=Edward |date= 1998|title=History and Electronic Artefacts |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= 0198236336}}</ref> PINs may be used to authenticate banking systems with cardholders, governments with citizens, enterprises with employees, and computers with users, among other uses.

In common usage, PINs are used in ATM or PO transactions,<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Keith |date= 2012|title=Everyday Cryptography: Fundamental Principles and Applications |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= 9780199695591}}</ref> secure access control (e.g. computer access, door access, car access),<ref>{{cite book |last=Cale |first=Stephane |date= 2013|title=Mobile Access Safety: Beyond BYOD |publisher=Wiley Publishing |isbn= 978-1-84821-435-4}}</ref> internet transactions,<ref name="digitaltransactions1">{{cite news|url=http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4090|title=E-Commerce: A Tangled Web for PIN Debit|date=1 February 2013|work=Digital Transactions|via=Associated Press}}</ref> or to log into a restricted website.