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CISSP Practice Question: A company requires employees to authenticate…
A company requires employees to authenticate using a smart card and PIN to access the corporate network. This is an example of which type of authentication?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may mistakenly think a smart card alone is a single factor, forgetting that the PIN is a separate knowledge factor, or they may confuse two-factor authentication with SSO because both can involve a single login event.
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
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Two-factor authentication
This scenario requires two distinct authentication factors: something you have (the smart card) and something you know (the PIN). Smart cards store a private key or certificate that must be unlocked by the PIN, and both factors must be presented simultaneously to authenticate. This meets the NIST SP 800-63 definition of multi-factor authentication, specifically two-factor authentication.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Single-factor authentication
Why it's wrong here
Single-factor authentication (SFA) relies on only one type of credential to verify a user's identity. This could be something you know (like a password), something you have (like a token), or something you are (like a fingerprint). The scenario describes using both a smart card (something you have) and a PIN (something you know), clearly exceeding the definition of SFA by combining two distinct authentication factors. Therefore, this option is incorrect as it does not align with the company's requirement.
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Biometric authentication
Why it's wrong here
Biometric authentication verifies a user's identity based on unique physiological or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans. While highly secure, the authentication method described in the question involves a smart card (a physical token) and a PIN (a secret code), neither of which falls under the category of "something you are." Consequently, this option is incorrect because the specified authentication mechanism does not utilize biometric data.
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Two-factor authentication
Why this is correct
Two-factor authentication (2FA) requires a user to provide two different types of credentials from distinct categories to verify their identity. The scenario explicitly states the use of a smart card, which represents "something you have," and a PIN, which represents "something you know." Since these are two separate and independent authentication factors, this method precisely matches the definition and implementation of two-factor authentication, making it the correct answer.
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Single sign-on
Why it's wrong here
Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication scheme that enables a user to log in with a single ID and password to gain access to multiple related, yet independent, software systems. While SSO streamlines the user experience across various applications, it describes an access management capability rather than specifying the number or type of authentication factors used for the initial login. The question focuses on the authentication factors themselves, not the subsequent access to multiple systems, rendering SSO an irrelevant concept for this specific query.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.