Valerie is investigating a recent incident and checks /var/log on a Linux system. She finds the audit.log file empty despite the system uptime showing over a month of uptime. What has she most likely encountered?

Since Valerie is investigating an incident, she should immediately consider the potential that the logs were wiped. That likely means that the intruder has gained privileged access to the system, which should worry her even more! Reboots do not wipe audit.log, and Valerie should have permissions appropriate to perform her function. System errors could explain an empty audit.log, but are unlikely, and an empty log found during an investigation is a cause for concern.