While reviewing performance logs, you observe that the processor utilization for a standard office workstation has spiked to 95% and remained consistently high for an extended period during off-peak hours. The workstation is used for typical office tasks and should not be running resource-intensive applications. What is the most likely explanation for this phenomenon?
Legitimate user activity has unexpectedly increased during off-peak hours.
The IT department has scheduled system updates or backups, which are causing the increased processor utilization.
A hardware component within the workstation is failing and causing an increase in CPU usage.
The workstation is likely infected with malware, such as a crypto-mining virus or other unauthorized software utilizing CPU resources.