ISC2 CC Access Controls Concepts Practice Question
A hospital IT team is reviewing how staff access patient records. A nurse logs in with a unique employee ID, then enters a password plus a one-time code from a hardware token. The team wants to document which access control category this login process represents. Which category BEST describes this approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any two credentials count as multi-factor authentication when they may belong to the same factor category.
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
✓
Something you know combined with something you have
Authentication factors fall into categories such as knowledge, possession, inherence, and location. The nurse's password represents knowledge, while the hardware token one-time code represents possession. Pairing factors from two different categories achieves multi-factor authentication, which is stronger than using two factors from the same category. This combination directly matches the described login process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Two separate instances of something you know
Why it's wrong here
Using two passwords or a password plus a PIN would both be something you know, which is not multi-factor authentication. The scenario includes a hardware token generating a one-time code, which is a possession factor, not another knowledge factor. Therefore this categorization is incorrect for the described login process.
- ✗
Something you are combined with something you have
Why it's wrong here
Something you are refers to biometrics such as fingerprints or retinal scans. The nurse in this scenario uses an employee ID, a password, and a hardware token, none of which are biometric. Since no biometric factor is present, this categorization does not match the described authentication method.
- ✗
Something you have combined with somewhere you are
Why it's wrong here
Location-based controls rely on geolocation or network position, not hardware tokens. The scenario describes a password and a hardware token, which are knowledge and possession factors. Nothing in the described login process uses physical or logical location as a factor, so this option is incorrect.
- ✓
Something you know combined with something you have
Why this is correct
The employee ID identifies the user, the password is something the nurse knows, and the one-time code from a hardware token is something the nurse has. Combining two different factors from separate categories satisfies multi-factor authentication. This accurately describes the hospital's login process and is the correct categorization.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Authentication and Authorization Methods
Key term
Multifactor Authentication
Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is a security method that requires you to provide two or more pieces of evidence to prove your identity before accessing an account or system.
Key term
Least privilege
Least privilege is a security principle that means giving users, systems, or programs only the minimum permissions they need to do their job and nothing more.
About these practice questions
One of 989 original CC practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.