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Security Education Companion
A free resource for digital security educators

Security question

To supplement passwords, some systems use "security questions." These are queries to which only you are supposed to know the answer. The problem with security questions is that they are really just extra passwords that have potentially guessable or discoverable answers. We recommend you treat them as any other password: create a long, novel, random, phrase to answer them, and record that somewhere safe. So the next time your bank asks you your mother's maiden name, you should be ready to answer "Correct Battery Horse Staple" or similar.