easyMultiple Choice
CISSP Practice Question: A user calls the help desk because they cannot…
A user calls the help desk because they cannot log in. The help desk technician confirms the user's identity by asking for their employee ID and mother's maiden name. Which of the following is the MOST significant security issue with this practice?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISSP often tests the difference between authentication factors and the weakness of knowledge-based authentication; candidates might choose MFA as the answer, but the question asks for the issue with the current practice, not the solution.
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
✓
The technician is using shared secrets that are not effective for strong authentication.
The most significant issue is that the help desk is using shared secrets (employee ID and mother's maiden name) for identity verification. These are static, often easily obtainable pieces of information that do not provide strong authentication. They can be compromised through social engineering or data breaches. While multi-factor authentication (C) is a good practice, the core problem is the reliance on weak shared secrets. Option D is also a concern but less significant than the use of ineffective secrets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The user's mother's maiden name is not stored in the HR system.
Why it's wrong here
The statement that the user's mother's maiden name is not stored in the HR system is irrelevant to the primary security concern. Even if this information were securely stored, its inherent weakness as a knowledge-based authentication factor remains. The critical issue is the reliance on a piece of information that is easily discoverable through public records or social engineering, rather than its storage location or presence within a specific database.
- ✓
The technician is using shared secrets that are not effective for strong authentication.
Why this is correct
This option correctly identifies the core problem. A mother's maiden name is a classic example of a "shared secret" – information known to both the user and the system, but not truly secret from others. Such data is highly susceptible to social engineering attacks or public record searches, making it an ineffective and weak form of authentication for verifying a user's identity, especially when a user cannot log in and requires a reset or unlock.
- ✗
The help desk should be using multi-factor authentication.
Why it's wrong here
While implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a robust security best practice for help desk operations, this option is not the most direct answer to the immediate problem described. The question highlights a fundamental flaw in the type of single-factor verification being used. Before considering adding more factors, the primary concern is the inherent weakness and compromise potential of the existing, easily guessable shared secret being employed for identity verification.
- ✗
The user's identity is being verified using information that is not unique to the user.
Why it's wrong here
This statement is incorrect because a mother's maiden name is generally considered unique enough to an individual for identification purposes, similar to a Social Security Number or date of birth. The security flaw isn't its lack of uniqueness, but rather its lack of secrecy. Information can be unique without being secret, and non-secret unique information is unsuitable for strong authentication as it can be easily obtained by an attacker.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Asset Security: Privacy and Data Retention
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
Key term
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying that someone or something is who or what it claims to be before granting access to a system or resource.
About these practice questions
One of 816 original CISSP 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 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.