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You can. But, if I lose my SSN card I can still (usually) use my SSN because it exists in a functional form inside of my head. If it was a PKI card, I would physically need to have the card.

I have family who tried to get a replacement SSN card during COVID and the process has been entirely impossible. This a drawback to using physical tokens.

Also, this doesn't eliminate identity theft, the point of issuing is the weak-point for fraud.

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Ok, but I got a replacement card several years ago and it was really not too hard. Took a few minutes at the SSA office with my passport (advice is to get their obscenely early to avoid waiting), and then waiting for the mail. Took a while to get in the mail, but wasn't hard, just slow.

Normally, it shouldn't be. But, my family ran into issues such as:

1. The office was physically closed for business during COVID.

2. They needed to get documentation which was physically in another country.

3. They could not travel to that country due to travel restrictions.

Lost my card, can confirm it's entirely tedious to replace

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