Ethical Hacking Complete Practice Test 2026

The situation described with Irin, the disgruntled ex-employee accessing critical documents in the cloud, is a clear example of malicious insiders. This type of threat occurs when individuals within an organization, often with legitimate access to the company’s data, exploit their insider knowledge and privileges to harm the organization, either for personal gain or revenge.

In this context, Irin's actions embody traits of a malicious insider because he has authorized access to the cloud, which he misuses due to his discontent with the organization. This situation highlights the unique risks posed by insiders, as they often have a deeper understanding of the company’s systems and data, making their actions particularly dangerous.

While other threats such as data breaches and credential theft can certainly be serious issues, they don't accurately capture the nature of Irin's behavior, since the threat originates from someone already inside the organization, rather than an external hacker or a straightforward act of stealing credentials. Advanced Persistent Threats are typically characterized by prolonged and targeted cyberattacks that involve multiple phases and sophisticated techniques, which do not align with the scenario of an ex-employee exploiting their former access to documents.