Which of the following is the process of comparing cryptographic hash functions of system executables and configuration files?

File integrity auditing specifically involves generating and comparing cryptographic hash values (such as MD5 or SHA-256) of system executables and configuration files against a trusted baseline. Any deviation in hash values indicates tampering, corruption, or unauthorized change. This is the defining technical process described in the question stem.

Reconnaissance is the process of gathering information about a target system or network prior to an attack, not comparing cryptographic hash values of files.

Spoofing involves impersonating a legitimate entity such as an IP address, MAC address, or email sender, which is unrelated to hash comparison of system files.

Shoulder surfing is a social engineering technique of visually observing someone's screen or keyboard to steal credentials, not a file hash comparison process.