When a user who should be allowed access is declined access during authentication, what is this outcome called?

• A. False Negative
• B. True Negative
• C. False Positive
• D. True Positive

Answer: (A)

One essential concept here is how authentication outcomes are categorized using a confusion-matrix mindset: positive means access should be granted, negative means access is denied.

When a user who should be allowed is denied, the system has produced a false negative — a missed authorization. It denied access even though the actual condition was that the user is permitted. The other outcomes would be: granting access to someone who should not be allowed is a false positive; denying access to someone who is not allowed is a true negative; and granting access to a legitimate user is a true positive.