Why would a penetration testing team use debuggers when assessing a corporate network for vulnerabilities?

Using debuggers is a crucial activity during penetration testing, particularly for the purpose of reverse engineering binary files. This process involves analyzing executable files and code to understand their structure and behavior, which is essential when developing exploits or analyzing malware.

When a penetration testing team encounters a proprietary application or a piece of malware, reverse engineering allows them to dissect the software to identify vulnerabilities. By employing a debugger, they can pause the execution of the code, inspect memory, and observe how it interacts with the system to uncover weaknesses or flaws that could be exploited. This not only aids in writing effective exploits but also helps in understanding the methodology behind malware attacks, enabling security enhancements.

In contrast, while securing network devices, monitoring traffic, and assessing firewall configurations are all important tasks for a penetration testing team, they do not specifically rely on the debugging of binary files like reverse engineering does. Thus, option B accurately reflects the specialized role that debuggers play in the context of penetration testing and vulnerability assessment.