By using a smart card and pin, you are using a two-factor authentication that satisfies

Question

Options

• ASomething you are and something you remember
• BSomething you have and something you know
• CSomething you know and something you are
• DSomething you have and something you are

• A
  6% (2)
• B
  88% (28)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

Option B is correct because a smart card is a physical token representing something you have, while a PIN is a secret number you've memorized, representing something you know - these two distinct factors together form two-factor authentication (2FA).

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is incorrect because "something you are" refers to biometrics (e.g., fingerprint, retina scan) - neither a smart card nor a PIN involves biometrics.
• C is incorrect for the same reason - a PIN is "something you know," but a smart card is not "something you are"; it's "something you have."
• D is incorrect because while a smart card is "something you have," a PIN is not a biometric identifier and therefore does not qualify as "something you are."

Memory tip: Think of the three authentication factors as "Have, Know, Are" - Have = physical object (card, token, key), Know = mental secret (password, PIN), Are = biological trait (fingerprint, face). A smart card goes in your wallet (have) and a PIN lives in your head (know), making the answer B.

No community discussion yet for this question.