Which statement about mutual authentication is true?

• A. Only one side verifies identity
• B. Both sides verify identity
• C. Neither side verifies identity
• D. Mutual authentication is not used in secure protocols

Answer: (B)

Mutual authentication is about both parties proving who they are to each other during the connection setup. This two-way verification helps prevent impersonation and ensures trust in both directions. In practice, credentials like certificates are exchanged and validated on both sides. For example, in TLS the server normally proves its identity with a certificate, and when mutual authentication is enabled, the client also presents a certificate so the server can verify who the client is. Because both sides verify the other's identity, this is more secure than a one-way check. The other statements describe one-way authentication, no authentication, or claim that mutual authentication isn’t used in secure protocols, which aren’t accurate since secure systems commonly use mutual authentication like mutual TLS.