What type of attack involves an employee exploiting their access to gain confidential data?

An internal attack refers to incidents where individuals within the organization, such as employees or contractors, misuse their authorized access to confidential data or systems for malicious purposes. This type of attack is particularly concerning because internal personnel often have legitimate access to sensitive information, which can make the detection of their malicious activities more challenging.

Employees may exploit their knowledge of the company's operations, data structures, and access credentials to steal confidential data, whether for financial gain, corporate espionage, or other malicious intents. These attacks can lead to significant breaches of trust and security, as the perpetrator is often familiar with the organization’s security protocols and can navigate them more easily than an external attacker.

In contrast, other options such as external attacks, SQL-injection, and phishing attacks involve different mechanisms and actors. External attacks originate outside the organization, whereas SQL-injection specifically targets database vulnerabilities. Phishing attacks typically involve tricking individuals into revealing personal information rather than leveraging prior access within an organization. Thus, internal attacks distinctly characterize the misuse of access privileges by employees.