Resignation is the formal decision to leave a job. In cyber security, it matters because a departing employee often still has access to email, cloud consoles, source code, customer data, or internal tools during the notice period. That creates a short but important risk window.
Attackers may try to exploit this period through phishing, credential theft, or social engineering, especially if access is not removed promptly. Defenders reduce the risk with strong offboarding: disable accounts on schedule, revoke tokens and VPN access, rotate shared secrets, collect devices, and review recent activity for unusual downloads or privilege use. A well-managed resignation process helps prevent insider threats, data loss, and unauthorized access after employment ends.