What is the purpose of a vulnerability assessment?

The purpose of a vulnerability assessment is primarily to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities within a system, network, or application. This process involves systematically scanning the environment to discover weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. The assessment provides organizations with a clear understanding of their security posture by highlighting areas that need remediation or enhancement.

After vulnerabilities are identified, they can be prioritized based on factors such as exploitability, potential impact, and the criticality of the system in question. This prioritization is vital, as it allows organizations to focus their resources and efforts on addressing the most critical vulnerabilities first, thereby reducing overall risk to the organization.

While other options touch on relevant aspects of cybersecurity, they do not align with the specific and focused objective of a vulnerability assessment. Monitoring network traffic relates to different operational security tasks, enforcing security policies pertains to governance and compliance, and user education deals with human factors in security awareness. Thus, option B clearly encapsulates the primary goal of conducting a vulnerability assessment within a cybersecurity framework.