Tab 1: Security Strategy Proposal CyberTech Corp proposes replacing traditional password a… — GMAT

Tab 1: Security Strategy Proposal
CyberTech Corp proposes replacing traditional password authentication with biometric facial recognition across all corporate departments. The proposal claims that this transition will reduce total IT security incident resolution costs by $40\%$ , arguing that biometric credentials eliminate costs associated with phished, forgotten, or shared passwords.

Tab 2: Helpdesk Cost Breakdown
A breakdown of the company's IT security incident resolution costs over the past fiscal year shows:
- Biometric enrollment lockouts and sensor failures: $65\%$
- Password resets and forgotten credential tickets: $15\%$
- Phishing-related account compromise investigations: $10\%$
- Other security incidents: $10\%$

Statement: The cost breakdown in Tab 2 weakens the claim in Tab 1 that transitioning to biometric authentication will reduce total IT security incident resolution costs by $40\%$ .

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is True.

The statement is correct because Tab 2 demonstrates that password-related security incidents account for only

25\%

of total resolution costs (

15\% + 10\% = 25\%

). Therefore, eliminating password issues cannot logically produce the

40\%

cost reduction claimed in Tab 1, thereby weakening the argument.

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the central claim and premise in Tab 1

Tab 1 claims a

40\%

reduction in total IT security incident resolution costs by eliminating password-related credential issues.

Understanding what evidence would support or weaken the claim requires defining the exact scope and source of the projected savings.

Calculate total password-related costs using Tab 2

Password resets (

15\%

) + Phishing investigations (

10\%

) =

25\%

of total incident resolution costs.

Cross-tab quantitative analysis determines the maximum possible impact of eliminating password issues.

Compare empirical data to the projected claim

Because password-related costs total only

25\%

, eliminating them entirely cannot achieve the claimed

40\%

reduction in total costs, which weakens the argument in Tab 1.

Demonstrating that the mathematical ceiling of savings is strictly less than the projected savings directly undermines the claim's validity.

Key Concept

Evaluating Argument Weakening Using Cross-Tab Quantitative Evidence

Question

Answer

Step-by-Step Solution

Key Concept

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