What term means a violation of a company security policy?

What term means a violation of a company security policy?

• A. Security incident
• B. Breach
• C. Identity theft
• D. Phishing

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding what counts as a security incident. A security incident is any event that violates a security policy or could lead to unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss of information. It covers both actual problems and near misses detected by monitoring or reported by users. When policy is violated—such as sharing credentials, accessing data you’re not authorized to view, or bypassing a security control—that’s considered a security incident because it breaches the organization’s rules and requires investigation and response. A breach is more specific: it means sensitive data or systems have actually been compromised. Identity theft describes stealing someone’s personal information, not the generic policy violation. Phishing is a tactic used to trick people into revealing information; it’s a method, not the term for a policy violation itself.

The main idea here is understanding what counts as a security incident. A security incident is any event that violates a security policy or could lead to unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss of information. It covers both actual problems and near misses detected by monitoring or reported by users. When policy is violated—such as sharing credentials, accessing data you’re not authorized to view, or bypassing a security control—that’s considered a security incident because it breaches the organization’s rules and requires investigation and response. A breach is more specific: it means sensitive data or systems have actually been compromised. Identity theft describes stealing someone’s personal information, not the generic policy violation. Phishing is a tactic used to trick people into revealing information; it’s a method, not the term for a policy violation itself.