What is network traffic analysis used for?

Network traffic analysis is primarily utilized to identify patterns or anomalies in data flows, which is crucial for maintaining network security and performance. This process involves monitoring and analyzing the data packets that travel through a network, allowing administrators and security professionals to detect unusual behaviors that may indicate security threats, such as malware infections, unauthorized access, or denial-of-service attacks.

By examining traffic patterns, organizations can identify peaks in network usage, pinpoint unusual source or destination IP addresses, and recognize suspicious protocols being used. This capability is vital for responding to potential security incidents in real-time and for conducting forensic investigations after an event has occurred.

The other choices pertain to different security functions. While matching document hashes contributes to data integrity verification, it does not focus on analyzing network behavior. Encrypting sensitive information relates to protecting data confidentiality rather than observing network dynamics, and creating digital watermarks is more about content protection and authenticity than analyzing traffic patterns.