Certified Governance Risk and Compliance (CGRC) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your Certification!

Multi-factor authentication is the correct choice because it involves the use of multiple forms of verification to enhance security during the authentication process. In this case, the combination of smart cards, usernames, and passwords represents different factors. The username and password constitute something the user knows (knowledge factor), while the smart card represents something the user has (possession factor).

This multiplicity significantly increases security because even if one factor is compromised, an attacker would still lack the other necessary factors to gain access.

Other authentication methods mentioned, such as anonymous and mutual authentication, do not utilize this combination of credentials. Anonymous authentication does not require any user identification, and mutual authentication involves both parties verifying each other's identities, which is different from the multi-factor approach. Biometrics, on the other hand, rely on physiological traits for identification and are distinct from the combination of smart cards, usernames, and passwords.