So one interesting thing I've learned from my foray into the world of Unemployment Insurance is that Colorado uses the SSN as your userid and identifier for pretty much everything (actually, use for unemployment claims was part of the original usage of the Social Security Card. Though they make some passing effort to keep it secret / keep it safe (e.g., when you log into the site, where your SSN is your default userid, the userid field is masked; when you sign in at the county work assistance office, you key your SSN onto a keypad (which, annoyingly, is a computer numeric keypad, not a phone keypad), it's clearly not actual security, because not only does the online system require an additional password (which you define), but for pretty much any functionality they also send you a 4-digit PIN through the mail.
So, let's count all of that:
1. Your SSN (which often comes printed on paperwork)
2. Your login account (SSN) password (definable by you)
3. A 4-digit PIN (assigned to you and sent through the mail)
So again we have the too-common tension between the SSN being some sort of sooper-sekrit code that you should never let anyone know because with it you can apparently have all your bank accounts stolen because banks are STOOPID, and an acknowledgment that it needs additional passwords because, well, people can pretty easily learn it and then do things with your unemployment account unless there is an additional layer of security.
I kind of wish we'd just treat it as a public national ID number and go on from there. As a security measure, it's nearly useless, even if assumed in too many places.
