What is an expected outcome of a well-conducted vulnerability assessment?

A well-conducted vulnerability assessment is designed to thoroughly evaluate an organization's security measures and identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited by threats. The expected outcome is the identification of specific areas that require improvement, which is essential for enhancing the overall security posture of the organization.

By pinpointing vulnerabilities, the assessment allows security professionals to prioritize actions and allocate resources effectively to address the most critical risks. This proactive approach ensures that preventive measures can be implemented, thereby reducing the likelihood of security breaches and improving the organization's resilience against attacks.

In the context of the other options, increased risk exposure would indicate failure in the assessment process, while reduced accountability for security incidents undermines the essence of security procedures, which are meant to establish responsibility and response protocols. Uniformity of all security procedures is not a direct outcome of a vulnerability assessment but rather a result of standardized policies; each environment may have specific needs that require tailored approaches rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.