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A company has a policy requiring that all employees use multi-factor authentication (MFA) when accessing the corporate VPN. An employee is setting up MFA on their smartphone and is presented with several options. Which of the following MFA methods provides the HIGHEST level of security?

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A company has a policy requiring that all employees use multi-factor authentication (MFA) when accessing the corporate VPN. An employee is setting up MFA on their smartphone and is presented with several options. Which of the following MFA methods provides the HIGHEST level of security?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.

A

Distractor review

SMS text message with a one-time code

SMS-based codes are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks and interception, making them the least secure option.

B

Distractor review

Push notification from an authenticator app

Push notifications are more secure than SMS but can still be subject to MFA fatigue or phishing if the user approves the prompt without verifying.

C

Best answer

Time-based one-time password (TOTP) generated by a hardware token

Hardware tokens generate codes offline and are not susceptible to remote attacks, phone number porting, or phishing, providing the highest security level among the choices.

D

Distractor review

Phone call with automated voice code

Phone call-based codes share similar vulnerabilities to SMS, including call forwarding attacks and social engineering, and are less secure than hardware tokens.

Common exam trap

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Technical deep dive

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
  • Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
  • Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
  • Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

  • Underline the problem statement mentally.
  • Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
  • Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Related practice questions

Related 220-1101 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

More questions from this exam

Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.

Question 1

A user reports intermittent network connectivity on a desktop computer. The technician observes that the Ethernet link light on the NIC turns off for a few seconds and then turns back on. The cable passes a wiremap test, the switch port is verified good with another device, and the NIC driver is updated. The issue occurs more frequently when the computer's case fan runs at high speed. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Question 2

A workstation is unable to connect to the internet. The technician runs the 'ipconfig' command and sees the IPv4 address is 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. The workstation can ping other devices on the local subnet but cannot ping the default gateway or any external addresses. Which TWO actions should the technician take to resolve this issue? (Select two.)

Question 3

A workstation is connected to a managed switch. It obtains a valid IP address (192.168.10.50) from the DHCP server, but it cannot ping the default gateway (192.168.10.1). The link light on both the workstation NIC and the switch port are solid green. Other workstations on the same switch CAN ping the default gateway successfully. The technician accesses the switch management interface and finds that the workstation's port is configured as an access port on VLAN 10. The default gateway is located on VLAN 20. An inter-VLAN router is configured but not explicitly allowing VLAN 10 access to VLAN 20. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the problem?

Question 4

A company develops a web application that relies on a custom library available only for a specific Linux distribution. They want to deploy the application in the cloud with minimal administrative overhead, but they need full control over the software stack, including the ability to install the custom library and configure the web server. Which cloud service model BEST meets these requirements?

Question 5

A company has a legacy virtual machine running on a deprecated hypervisor (Hyper-V). They want to migrate this VM to a new hypervisor (VMware vSphere) hosted in a private cloud while preserving the VM's configuration, installed applications, and data. The migration must be performed with minimal downtime. Which of the following methods is MOST appropriate?

Question 6

A company hosts a critical database on a virtual machine in a public cloud. The database requires persistent storage that must be retained even if the VM is terminated. The storage must also be accessible from multiple VMs simultaneously for a future high-availability configuration. Which type of cloud storage BEST meets these requirements?

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this 220-1101 question test?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Time-based one-time password (TOTP) generated by a hardware token — Hardware-based TOTP tokens are considered the most secure MFA method among the listed options because they are resistant to phishing, SIM swapping, and remote compromise, as the token is a physical device that generates codes offline.

What should I do if I get this 220-1101 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.

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