A user attempting to log on to a workstation for the first time is prompted for the following information before being granted access: username, password, and a four-digit security pin that was…

The correct answer is C. Single factor authentication. Despite presenting three pieces of information, this is Single Factor Authentication (C). Multifactor authentication (MFA) requires credentials from two or more different factor categories: something you know, something you have, and something you are. Here, all three items…

General security concepts

Question

A user attempting to log on to a workstation for the first time is prompted for the following information before being granted access: username, password, and a four-digit security pin that was mailed to him during account registration. This is an example of which of the following?

Options

ADual-factor authentication
BMultifactor authentication
CSingle factor authentication
DBiometric authentication

How the community answered

(33 responses)

A
6% (2)
B
3% (1)
C
76% (25)
D
15% (5)

Explanation

Despite presenting three pieces of information, this is Single Factor Authentication (C). Multifactor authentication (MFA) requires credentials from two or more different factor categories: something you know, something you have, and something you are. Here, all three items - username, password, and the pre-mailed four-digit PIN - are 'something you know.' A static PIN mailed during registration and then memorized/stored is a knowledge factor, not a possession factor (which would require a physical token generating a real-time code). Because all credentials come from the same category, only one factor type is being verified, making this single-factor despite having multiple credentials.

Topics

#single-factor authentication#authentication factors#password#PIN

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