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Old 23rd March 2014
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jggimi jggimi is offline
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Join Date: May 2008
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Yes, if a passphrase is selected, then SSH PKA can provide two-factor authentication. But passphrases are optional. Their use must be enforced by policy.

Any system that requres a user to authenticate two different ways -- a) something they have, combined with b) something they know -- are two-factor authentication methods. Other examples: RSA key fobs that provide changing sequences combined with a user PIN. Web applications that require both a client X.509 certificate and a password/passphrase. VPN clients that require workstation certificates combined with a password/passphrase.
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