Valid Authentication Methods for REST API — Basic & OAuth

Quick Answer

OAuth 2.0 is correct because it is one of the authentication methods ServiceNow supports for incoming REST API calls, alongside Basic Authentication, which sends an Authorization header containing a Base64-encoded username and password and depends on HTTPS to keep those credentials from being exposed in plaintext during transmission. The fact that a question like this asks for two valid methods reflects that ServiceNow does not lock integrations into a single authentication scheme; different integration scenarios call for different tradeoffs, and the platform is built to accommodate more than one properly supported approach rather than treating only one method as correct. Recognizing which methods actually count as valid, versus distractors that describe something ServiceNow does not natively support for this purpose, is the real skill being tested here, since exam questions in this area often mix genuine authentication mechanisms with plausible-sounding but incorrect options. When you see a question asking you to identify valid authentication methods for a REST integration, focus on whether the option describes a recognized, platform-supported mechanism for authenticating the call itself rather than a feature related to something else, like authorization scoping or data formatting, since those are commonly confused with authentication but solve a different problem entirely.