An incident analyst finds several image files on a hard disk. The image files may contain geolocation coordinates. Which of the following best describes the type of information the analyst is trying to extract from the image files?

The analyst is looking for metadata. Metadata is data about data, such as creation date, author, file size, and, in the case of images, embedded geolocation coordinates (EXIF data). This information is often stored within the file itself but separate from the primary content. Log data refers to records of events or activities, like system access or network traffic, not embedded file information. Encrypted data is data that has been transformed to obscure its meaning, which isn't what the analyst is specifically trying to extract here, though metadata itself could be encrypted. Sensitive data is a broad category referring to information that requires protection (e.g., PII, financial data); while geolocation can be sensitive, "metadata" is the more precise technical term for the type of information being extracted from the image file in this context.