Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Practice Exam 2026 – The Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The correct answer is based on the specifics of the authentication methods described. In Password Authentication Protocol (PAP), the authentication process is initiated by the device that is attempting to be authenticated. When a PPP connection is established, the client sends its credentials (username and password) to the server in plain text format to initiate the authentication process.

This initiation by the device seeking authentication differentiates PAP from other methods. Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), on the other hand, requires the server to send a challenge first, which prompts the client to respond with a hashed value rather than initiating the exchange itself. Similarly, Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) have their own methods and protocols for authentication that do not rely on the initial request from the device being authenticated.

Thus, PAP explicitly requires the device to authenticate itself by sending its credentials first, fulfilling the condition specified in the question.