A security analyst observes that the processor utilization on a server spikes to 95-100% at intermittent periods throughout the workday when typical usage previously averaged around 40%. After ruling out scheduled tasks and legitimate peak usage times, which of the following is the BEST course of action to determine the cause of the anomalous processor consumption?
Check for pending operating system updates or failed update installations.
Review the task manager or resource monitor to identify high-CPU-usage processes.
Run a full antivirus scan on the server to search for any infections.
Verify network throughput to rule out excessive traffic as a cause for high CPU usage.