In a mutual authentication scenario, how many verifiers and supplicants are described?

• A. There are two verifiers and two supplicants
• B. There are two verifiers, but there is only one supplicant
• C. There is one verifier, but there are two supplicants
• D. None of the above.

Answer: (A)

Mutual authentication means both parties prove their identities to each other and verify the other side’s credentials. In this setup, each participant plays both roles: they are a supplicant presenting credentials, and a verifier checking the credentials of the other side. So you have two verifiers (each party verifies the other) and two supplicants (each party presents credentials). This symmetrical arrangement is what mutual authentication requires; if only one side verified or only one side supplied credentials, it wouldn’t be mutual.