SSS

SSS is an acronym with several distinct meanings in technology, government, and public administration. The intended sense is usually inferred from context, and the term appears in fields ranging from cryptography and computer graphics to national service and social welfare programs.

Shamir's Secret Sharing is a cryptographic scheme proposed by Adi Shamir in 1979. It divides a secret into n shares and requires any threshold t of them to reconstruct the secret. The scheme is information-theoretically secure: without at least t shares, the secret yields no usable information. Reconstruction uses polynomial interpolation over a finite field.

Subsurface Scattering (SSS) is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to model light transport in translucent materials, such as skin, marble, or wax. Light penetrates the surface, scatters within the material, and exits at other points, producing softer shadows and a characteristic glow. Practical implementations use approximate models to balance realism and performance.

In the United States, the Selective Service System (SSS) is the government agency that manages registration for potential military conscription. While registration is still required for most male U.S. citizens and immigrant men, no active draft is in place as of now. The system serves as a contingency mechanism should conscription be reinstated by Congress and the President.

The Social Security System (SSS) is a government agency in the Philippines that administers social insurance benefits for private-sector workers. Funded by contributions from employers and employees, it provides retirement, disability, sickness, maternity, and death benefits, among others. Coverage and benefit rules are defined by statute and are updated over time.