Security questions: Risks, best practices, & safe alternatives

Remember the last time you forgot your password and had to answer "What's your mother's maiden name?" to get back into your account? You're not alone. Millions of people rely on security questions every day to recover access to everything from their email to their bank accounts.

Here's the thing, though. Those innocent-looking questions aren't as secure as they seem. Information that once felt private is now often easy to find online through social media, public databases, or other digital breadcrumbs. What started as a simple backup plan has become a favorite target for hackers who know exactly where to look for answers.

The irony is that while we've gotten much better at creating strong passwords, we're still hanging onto an authentication method that's stuck in the past. Most companies keep using security questions because they're familiar and don't require fancy technology, but that familiarity comes with real risks.

In this guide, we'll walk through why security questions can be surprisingly risky, what makes some questions stronger than others, and how businesses can either improve their current approach or move to more secure alternatives altogether.

What are security questions?

Security questions are a form of identity verification that websites and applications use to confirm a user's identity, typically when they forget their password or need to recover access to their online accounts. These questions are based on personal information that supposedly only the account holder would know.

The concept originated as a simple way to add an extra layer of online security beyond passwords. Banks were among the first to adopt them, asking customers about personal details like their mother's maiden name or the city where they were born. As online services grew, security questions became a standard feature across email providers, social media platforms, and virtually every service requiring user accounts.

Today, you'll encounter security questions during account setup, password recovery, and sometimes as an additional verification step during login. They're designed to be memorable enough that users can answer them years later, yet specific enough that strangers couldn't easily guess the answers.

Types of security questions

Security questions come in various forms, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Understanding these categories helps explain why some questions work better than others.

1. Personal history questions

These questions focus on factual events from your past, such as "What was the name of your first school?" or "In what city were you born?" 

Pro: These answers are typically stable over time, so they’re easier to remember.

Cons: They're often discoverable through social media profiles, public records, or casual conversation.

2. Preference-based questions

Questions like "What's your favorite color?" or "What's your favorite movie?" fall into this category. 

Pros: They are quick and easy to fill out, without needing to recall obscure facts.

Cons: These may be hard to remember because tastes change over time, and answers are often too common or easily guessable.

3. Experience-based questions

These questions ask about specific experiences, such as "Where did you go on your honeymoon?" or "What was the make of your first car?" 

Pros: They tend to be more secure than preference questions because the answers are factual and less likely to change.

Cons: They may still be discoverable through social media.

4. Opinion-based questions

These are questions about personal opinions or beliefs, like "What do you consider your greatest achievement?" 

Pros: Because these answers aren’t factual, they are less likely to be found on social media.

Cons: They can be problematic because opinions evolve, and users might answer differently depending on their mood or life circumstances.

5. Custom or user-defined questions

Some platforms allow users to create their own security questions.

Pros: This approach can lead to more unique questions.

Cons: Users often create questions that are either too obvious or too obscure to remember reliably.

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Why security questions can be risky

Despite their widespread use, security questions have several fundamental flaws that make them less secure than many people realize.

Easy to guess or find answers online

Many traditional security questions ask about information that's readily available online. Social media profiles, public records, and even casual conversations often reveal details like pet names, birth cities, or school names. 

Subject to phishing and social engineering

Security questions make attractive targets for social engineering and password attacks. Criminals can call users pretending to be from their bank or email provider, asking them to "verify" their security question answers. Because these questions seem harmless, people are often willing to share the information. This bad practice of oversharing makes it easy for attackers to gain access later.

Rarely changed or updated

Unlike passwords, which security experts recommend changing regularly, security question answers typically remain static for years. Once compromised through say, a data breach, these answers can provide long-term access to accounts unless users proactively update them.

Often not unique enough for large organizations

In enterprise environments, common security questions can create serious vulnerabilities. When hundreds or thousands of employees use the same basic questions, attackers only need to research a few common answers to potentially access multiple accounts.

What is a good security question?

An effective security question strikes a balance between security and usability. It should help verify a user's identity without being easily guessable, searchable online, or reproducible by someone who knows basic facts about the person.

Good security questions have several key characteristics:

• They're memorable to the user but obscure to others

• They have answers that remain stable over time

• They aren't easily researched or guessed

The best questions often focus on specific details that are meaningful to the individual but wouldn't be widely known or posted online.

The challenge lies in creating questions that meet these criteria while remaining answerable years later. Questions that are too obscure may stump legitimate users, while questions that are too obvious provide little security value.

Strong security question examples

Here are some examples of stronger security questions that are harder for attackers to guess or research:

What is the name of the street your best childhood friend lived on?

This question works well because it's specific and personal, yet not typically shared on social media. While you might mention your childhood friend's name online, you're unlikely to include their address from decades ago.

What was the first meal you learned to cook?

This is a personal memory that’s unlikely to appear in any public profile, but it’s vivid and easy for you to recall. It works well because even if someone knows you enjoy cooking, they probably won’t know the very first dish you mastered.

What was the make and model of your first car?

While people sometimes share photos of their current cars online, details about their very first vehicle are less commonly posted, making this information harder for attackers to discover.

What was your favorite teacher's name?

This question taps into memorable personal experiences while asking for specific information that's unlikely to appear in public profiles or casual online posts.

What was your childhood dream job?

Childhood aspirations are deeply personal and memorable, but they're also the type of detail that rarely comes up in adult conversations or social media posts.

Where did you go on your first flight?

Travel destinations from childhood or early adulthood are often memorable but less likely to be documented online compared to recent trips.

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Examples of weak security questions to avoid

Understanding what makes a security question weak helps explain why so many common questions fail to provide adequate protection.

What's your mother's maiden name?

This classic question is problematic because maiden names are often discoverable through genealogy websites, marriage records, and social media posts. Family trees and wedding announcements frequently include this information.

What was your first pet's name?

Pet names appear frequently in social media posts, photo captions, and casual conversations. Even if someone doesn't currently post about childhood pets, family members might share old photos with pet names in the comments.

What city were you born in?

Birth cities are often listed in public records, social media profiles, and professional biographies. This information is also commonly shared in casual conversation and dating profiles.

What was the name of your first school?

School information frequently appears in LinkedIn profiles, alumni directories, and reunion announcements. Many people also share memories of their early education on social media platforms.

What's your favorite color?

Favorite colors are easily guessable, with limited possible answers. Attackers can often determine preferences from social media profiles, clothing choices in photos, or home décor visible in posts.

Best practices for coming up with strong security questions

Creating stronger security measures requires a strategic approach to both choosing and answering security questions:

Limit self-written questions

Avoid allowing users to create their own security questions unless they meet strict security criteria. While custom questions can improve uniqueness, they often result in predictable or overly personal prompts that attackers can exploit.

Enforce answer quality

Screen users responses against a deny list of weak or common answers such as “1234”, “password”, or details already known to the organization (e.g., email address, username). Require a minimum answer length to increase complexity.

Implement lockout thresholds

Limit the number of failed attempts before locking the account or escalating to a higher-assurance recovery method. This reduces the risk of brute-force guessing.

Require multiple factors

Use security questions alongside other authentication factors—never as the sole means of account recovery or verification. Combining them with MFA or system-defined questions increases resistance to social engineering attacks.

Rotate and review questions regularly

Implement periodic prompts for users to review their security questions and update answers if they have become guessable or publicly available. This helps keep recovery data relevant and secure.

Alternatives to security questions

Modern authentication methods offer the best security compared to traditional security questions, making them better choices for organizations serious about protecting user accounts.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of verification, such as something they know (password), something they have (phone), and something they are (fingerprint). This approach is far more secure than relying on easily compromised security questions. MFA is often compared to 2FA, but MFA can use two or more factors, while 2FA always uses exactly two.

One-time passcodes (OTPs)

OTPs sent via SMS, email, or authenticator apps provide temporary access codes that expire quickly. These codes are much harder for attackers to intercept and use compared to static security question answers.

Biometric authentication

Fingerprint scanners, facial recognition, and voice authentication offer unique identifiers that are extremely difficult to replicate. While not perfect, biometric methods are generally more secure than knowledge-based questions.

Password managers

Password managers can generate and store complex passwords while eliminating the need for security questions altogether. They also often include secure note features for storing recovery codes and backup authentication methods.

IAM tools

Identity and access management tools provide comprehensive user authentication and authorization capabilities, often including advanced features like behavioral analysis and risk-based authentication that adapt security requirements based on user behavior and context.

How to manage security questions in your organization

Organizations need clear policies and procedures for managing security questions across their user base.

Enforce strong, unique questions

Develop guidelines for acceptable security questions and provide examples of strong options. Consider maintaining a list of prohibited questions that are known to be easily compromised.

Train employees on social engineering risks

Education is crucial for helping employees understand how typical security questions can be exploited. Regular training should cover both technical attacks and social engineering tactics that target these authentication methods.

Offer MFA wherever possible

Implement multi-factor authentication as the primary security measure, using security questions only as a fallback option when stronger methods aren't available or practical.

Audit and update security question policies regularly

Review your organization's approach to security questions annually, considering new threats and available alternatives. Update policies based on emerging security research and incidents.

Use security software to monitor suspicious access

Deploy monitoring tools that can detect unusual access patterns and potential security question attacks. These systems can alert administrators to suspicious activity before accounts are fully compromised.

Protect employee data and secure access with Rippling

Modern workforce management requires moving beyond outdated authentication methods like security questions. Rippling reduces reliance on these vulnerable techniques by providing comprehensive identity and access management tools designed for today's security landscape.

Instead of relying on easily compromised security questions, Rippling's unified platform addresses the core problems we've discussed throughout this article. The system combines your HRIS with identity management, creating a single source of truth that eliminates the gaps where security questions typically fail. 

Here's how Rippling transforms your security approach:

• Dynamic access controls that automatically adjust permissions based on employee roles, departments, and behaviors

• Automated onboarding and offboarding that provisions and revokes access instantly

• Built-in multi-factor authentication that replaces vulnerable security questions with stronger verification methods

• Comprehensive audit trails that track all access attempts and changes, giving you comprehensive visibility

The result is stronger security that's actually easier to manage. Your IT team spends less time on password resets and account recovery, while your employees get seamless access to the tools they need. And because everything is centralized, you get the compliance reporting and security oversight that modern businesses require.

Security questions FAQs

What is a valid security question?

A valid security question should be memorable to the user, difficult for others to guess or research, and have answers that remain stable over time. The best questions focus on specific personal details that aren't commonly shared online or in public records.

Are security questions still used in 2025?

Yes, security questions remain common across many platforms, though their use is declining as organizations adopt stronger authentication methods. Many companies now use them only as backup options alongside more secure primary authentication methods.

What's better: MFA or security questions?

Multi-factor authentication is significantly more secure than security questions. MFA requires multiple forms of verification, making it much harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access even if they compromise one authentication factor.

Can I disable security questions in my company?

Many platforms allow organizations to disable security questions in favor of alternative recovery methods. However, this depends on your specific systems and may require implementing alternative authentication and recovery procedures to maintain account accessibility.