What security anomaly may be indicated when an employee's account shows access from geographically distant locations within a short period, without secure remote access tools?

The indication of access from geographically distant locations within a short timeframe, especially when occurring without secure remote access tools, aligns with the concept of "impossible travel." This term refers to scenarios where a user's account appears to be accessed from two or more locations that are physically far apart in a time frame that makes it implausible for a person to travel between those locations.

For instance, if an employee's account shows access from New York and then, shortly thereafter, from Tokyo, it raises a significant red flag. This behavior suggests that the account may have been compromised, indicating potential unauthorized access by an attacker who could be exploiting the credentials from different locations.

In this context, the possibility of an insider threat, data breach, or phishing attack may be relevant but does not specifically capture the concept of "impossible travel." Insider threats pertain more to malicious actions from trusted individuals within the organization, while data breaches generally involve unauthorized access to sensitive information. Phishing attacks typically refer to deceptive tactics to acquire information rather than the anomalies in access patterns. Therefore, "impossible travel" is the most directly relevant anomaly related to the question posed.