A large percentage of computers within an organization are suddenly reporting that their operating systems may be illegally obtained. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

In an organization, operating system licensing is often managed centrally by a Key Management Service (KMS) or similar server. If this server goes offline, client machines may lose their ability to renew their activation lease, causing them to report that their OS is not genuine or illegally obtained.

While some license checks might involve online verification, a sudden, widespread "illegally obtained" message is less likely to be solely due to internet access loss unless a KMS server is also unreachable.

While possible, "hackers stealing the organization's license" is a more complex and less common immediate cause for a widespread "illegally obtained" message than an internal KMS server issue.

If the company did not pay for the license, the issue would likely have been present from the start or at the first activation attempt, not a sudden, widespread occurrence across existing, likely previously activated, computers.