During a review of the asset life cycle process, a risk practitioner identified several unreturned and unencrypted laptops belonging to former employees. Which of the following is the GREATEST…

While there might be a need for more laptops, this is an operational concern and not the greatest security risk compared to data exposure.

Abuse of leavers' account privileges is a separate concern related to identity and access management, distinct from the physical security of unreturned hardware.

Unreturned and unencrypted laptops present a critical risk because former employees or malicious actors could gain unauthorized access to any sensitive organizational data stored on them. Since the laptops are unencrypted, the data is easily accessible if the device falls into the wrong hands, leading to potential data breaches and significant reputational and financial damage.

The financial cost of replacing laptops is a monetary loss, which is less significant than the potential impact of a data breach from unauthorized access to sensitive information.