Which PIN policy applies to NSS tokens?

• A. PIN must be 6-8 digits
• B. PIN must be 4-8 digits
• C. PIN must be 8-16 digits
• D. PIN must be 10-20 digits

Answer: (C)

NSS token PIN lengths are set to provide enough possibilities to deter guessing while staying practical for users. The 8 to 16 digit range gives a strong search space—there are at least hundreds of millions of possible combinations, and up to an enormous number with 16 digits—making brute-force guessing vastly more difficult. Shorter options reduce the number of possibilities and weaken security, while much longer lengths, though more secure, can lead to usability problems and higher rates of entry errors or forgotten PINs. So, 8-16 digits hits a good balance between protecting access and keeping something users can realistically remember and type.