VA-003 Compare authentication methods Practice Question
Which authentication method allows a user to authenticate using a one-time password (OTP) generated by an authenticator app?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between an authentication method (like Okta's TOTP) and a protocol or service that can be used as an identity provider but does not natively generate OTPs, leading candidates to confuse GitHub's OAuth or LDAP's directory lookups with actual OTP generation.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Okta
Okta supports Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) as an authentication factor, which is the standard method used by authenticator apps like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. TOTP generates a temporary code based on a shared secret and the current time, as defined in RFC 6238, and Okta's multifactor authentication (MFA) policies can require this OTP for user login. This makes Okta the correct choice for authenticating with an OTP from an authenticator app.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Okta
Why this is correct
Okta supports TOTP via the Okta API.
- ✗
Userpass
Why it's wrong here
Userpass does not support OTP.
- ✗
GitHub
Why it's wrong here
GitHub does not support OTP for Vault auth.
- ✗
LDAP
Why it's wrong here
LDAP does not natively support OTP.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VA-003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free HashiCorp certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VA-003 exam.