Palo Alto Networks PSE-Strata-Pro-24 Practice Test - Questions Answers

To prevent malicious actors from abusing file-sharing applications for data exfiltration, App-ID provides a granular approach to managing application traffic. Palo Alto Networks' App-ID is a technology that identifies applications traversing the network, regardless of port, protocol, encryption (SSL), or evasive tactics. By leveraging App-ID, security engineers can implement policies that restrict the use of specific applications or functionalities based on job functions, ensuring that only authorized users or groups can use file-sharing applications while blocking unauthorized or malicious usage.

Here's why the options are evaluated this way:

Option A: DNS Security focuses on identifying and blocking malicious domains. While it plays a critical role in preventing certain attacks (like command-and-control traffic), it is not effective for managing application usage. Hence, this is not the best approach.

Option B (Correct): App-ID provides the ability to identify file-sharing applications (such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive) and enforce policies to restrict their use. For example, you can create a security rule allowing file-sharing apps only for specific job functions, such as HR or marketing, while denying them for other users. This targeted approach ensures legitimate business needs are not disrupted, which aligns with the requirement of not impacting valid users.

Option C: Blocking all file-sharing applications outright using DNS Security is a broad measure that will indiscriminately impact legitimate users. This does not meet the requirement of allowing specific users to continue using file-sharing applications.

Option D: While App-ID can block file-sharing applications outright, doing so will prevent legitimate usage and is not aligned with the requirement to allow usage based on job functions.

How to Implement the Solution (Using App-ID):

Identify the relevant file-sharing applications using App-ID in Palo Alto Networks' predefined application database.

Create security policies that allow these applications only for users or groups defined in your directory (e.g., Active Directory).

Use custom App-ID filters or explicit rules to control specific functionalities of file-sharing applications, such as uploads or downloads.

Monitor traffic to ensure that only authorized users are accessing the applications and that no malicious activity is occurring.

Palo Alto Networks Admin Guide: Application Identification and Usage Policies.

Best Practices for App-ID Configuration: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com

Panorama is Palo Alto Networks' centralized management solution for managing multiple firewalls. It supports multiple deployment options to suit different infrastructure needs. The valid deployment options are as follows:

Why 'As a virtual machine (ESXi, Hyper-V, KVM)' (Correct Answer A)?

Panorama can be deployed as a virtual machine on hypervisors like VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM. This is a common option for organizations that already utilize virtualized infrastructure.

Why 'With a cloud service provider (AWS, Azure, GCP)' (Correct Answer B)?

Panorama is available for deployment in the public cloud on platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. This allows organizations to centrally manage firewalls deployed in cloud environments.

Why 'As a dedicated hardware appliance (M-100, M-200, M-500, M-600)' (Correct Answer E)?

Panorama is available as a dedicated hardware appliance with different models (M-100, M-200, M-500, M-600) to cater to various performance and scalability requirements. This is ideal for organizations that prefer physical appliances.

Why not 'As a container (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift)' (Option C)?

Panorama is not currently supported as a containerized deployment. Containers are more commonly used for lightweight and ephemeral services, whereas Panorama requires a robust and persistent deployment model.

Why not 'On a Raspberry Pi (Model 4, Model 400, Model 5)' (Option D)?

Panorama cannot be deployed on low-powered hardware like Raspberry Pi. The system requirements for Panorama far exceed the capabilities of Raspberry Pi hardware.

Policy Optimizer is a feature designed to help administrators improve the efficiency and effectiveness of security policies on Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs). It focuses on identifying unused or overly permissive policies to streamline and optimize the configuration.

Why 'Identify Security policy rules with unused applications' (Correct Answer C)?

Policy Optimizer provides visibility into existing security policies and identifies rules that have unused or outdated applications. For example:

It can detect if a rule allows applications that are no longer in use.

It can identify rules with excessive permissions, enabling administrators to refine them for better security and performance.

By addressing these issues, Policy Optimizer helps reduce the attack surface and improves the overall manageability of the firewall.

Why not 'Recommend best practices on new policy creation' (Option A)?

Policy Optimizer focuses on optimizing existing policies, not creating new ones. While best practices can be applied during policy refinement, recommending new policy creation is not its purpose.

Why not 'Show unused licenses for Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) subscriptions and firewalls' (Option B)?

Policy Optimizer is not related to license management or tracking. Identifying unused licenses is outside the scope of its functionality.

Why not 'Act as a migration tool to import policies from third-party vendors' (Option D)?

Policy Optimizer does not function as a migration tool. While Palo Alto Networks offers tools for third-party firewall migration, this is separate from the Policy Optimizer feature.

Cobalt Strike is a popular post-exploitation framework often used by attackers for Command and Control (C2) operations. Malleable C2 profiles allow attackers to modify the behavior of their C2 communication, making detection more difficult. Stopping these attacks in real time requires deep inline inspection and the ability to block zero-day and evasive threats.

Why 'Advanced Threat Prevention and PAN-OS 10.2' (Correct Answer B)?

Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) on PAN-OS 10.2 uses inline deep learning models to detect and block Cobalt Strike Malleable C2 attacks in real time. ATP is designed to prevent evasive techniques and zero-day threats, which is essential for blocking Malleable C2. PAN-OS 10.2 introduces enhanced capabilities for detecting malicious traffic patterns and inline analysis of encrypted traffic.

ATP examines traffic behavior and signature-less threats, effectively stopping evasive C2 profiles.

PAN-OS 10.2 includes real-time protections specifically for Malleable C2.

Why not 'Next-Generation CASB on PAN-OS 10.1' (Option A)?

Next-Generation CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) is designed to secure SaaS applications and does not provide the inline C2 protection required to stop Malleable C2 attacks. CASB is not related to Command and Control detection.

Why not 'Threat Prevention and Advanced WildFire with PAN-OS 10.0' (Option C)?

Threat Prevention and Advanced WildFire are effective for detecting and preventing malware and known threats. However, they rely heavily on signatures and sandboxing for analysis, which is not sufficient for stopping real-time evasive C2 traffic. PAN-OS 10.0 lacks the advanced inline capabilities provided by ATP in PAN-OS 10.2.

Why not 'DNS Security, Threat Prevention, and Advanced WildFire with PAN-OS 9.x' (Option D)?

While DNS Security and Threat Prevention are valuable for blocking malicious domains and known threats, PAN-OS 9.x does not provide the inline deep learning capabilities needed for real-time detection and prevention of Malleable C2 attacks. The absence of advanced behavioral analysis in PAN-OS 9.x makes this combination ineffective against advanced C2 attacks.

Palo Alto Networks AIOps for NGFW is a cloud-delivered service that leverages telemetry data and machine learning (ML) to provide proactive operational insights, best practice recommendations, and issue prevention.

Why 'It is offered in two license tiers: a free version and a premium version' (Correct Answer B)?

AIOps for NGFW is available in two tiers:

Free Tier: Provides basic operational insights and best practices at no additional cost.

Premium Tier: Offers advanced capabilities, such as AI-driven forecasts, proactive issue prevention, and enhanced ML-based recommendations.

Why 'It uses telemetry data to forecast, preempt, or identify issues, and it uses machine learning (ML) to adjust and enhance the process' (Correct Answer C)?

AIOps uses telemetry data from NGFWs to analyze operational trends, forecast potential problems, and recommend solutions before issues arise. ML continuously refines these insights by learning from real-world data, enhancing accuracy and effectiveness over time.

Why not 'It is offered in two license tiers: a commercial edition and an enterprise edition' (Option A)?

This is incorrect because the licensing model for AIOps is based on 'free' and 'premium' tiers, not 'commercial' and 'enterprise' editions.

Why not 'It forwards log data to Advanced WildFire to anticipate, prevent, or identify issues, and it uses machine learning (ML) to refine and adapt to the process' (Option D)?

AIOps does not rely on Advanced WildFire for its operation. Instead, it uses telemetry data directly from the NGFWs to perform operational and security analysis.

Palo Alto Networks' PAN-OS supports API keys for authentication when interacting with the firewall's RESTful and XML-based APIs. By default, API keys do not have an expiration time set, but the expiration time for API keys can be configured by an administrator to meet specific requirements, such as a time-based deactivation after two hours. This is particularly useful for compliance and security purposes, where API keys should not remain active indefinitely.

Here's an evaluation of the options:

Option A: This is incorrect because the default setting for API keys does not include an expiration time. By default, API keys are valid indefinitely unless explicitly configured otherwise.

Option B: This is incorrect because PAN-OS fully supports API keys. The API keys are integral to managing access to the firewall's APIs and provide a secure method for authentication.

Option C: This is incorrect because PAN-OS does support API key expiration when explicitly configured. While the default is 'no expiration,' the feature to configure an expiration time (e.g., 2 hours) is available.

Option D (Correct): The correct response to the RFP clause is that the default API key settings need to be modified to set the expiration time to 120 minutes (2 hours). This aligns with the customer requirement to enforce API key deactivation based on time. Administrators can configure this using the PAN-OS management interface or the CLI.

How to Configure API Key Expiration (Steps):

Access the Web Interface or CLI on the firewall.

Navigate to Device > Management > API Key Lifetime Settings (on the GUI).

Set the desired expiration time (e.g., 120 minutes).

Alternatively, use the CLI to configure the API key expiration:

set deviceconfig system api-key-expiry <time-in-minutes>

commit

Verify the configuration using the show command or by testing API calls to ensure the key expires after the set duration.

Palo Alto Networks API Documentation: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/apis

Configuration Guide: Managing API Key Expiration

When assisting a customer in deploying next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) for their new physical store branches, it is crucial to address their requirements for SD-WAN, security, and data protection with a validated deployment methodology. Palo Alto Networks provides robust solutions for branch security and SD-WAN integration, and several steps align with vendor-validated methods:

Option A (Correct): Palo Alto Networks or certified partners provide professional services for validated deployment methods, including SD-WAN, security, and data protection in branch locations. Professional services ensure that the deployment adheres to industry best practices and Palo Alto's validated reference architectures. This ensures a scalable and secure deployment across all branch locations.

Option B: While using Golden Images and a Day 1 configuration can create a consistent baseline for configuration deployment, it does not align directly with the requirement of following vendor-validated deployment methodologies. This step is helpful but secondary to vendor-validated professional services and bespoke deployment planning.

Option C (Correct): A bespoke deployment plan considers the customer's specific architecture, store footprint, and unique security requirements. Palo Alto Networks' system engineers typically collaborate with the customer to design and validate tailored deployments, ensuring alignment with the customer's operational goals while maintaining compliance with validated architectures.

Option D: While Palo Alto Networks provides branch deployment guides (such as the 'On-Premises Network Security for the Branch Deployment Guide'), these guides are primarily reference materials. They do not substitute for vendor-provided professional services or the creation of tailored deployment plans with the customer.

Palo Alto Networks SD-WAN Deployment Guide.

Branch Deployment Architecture Best Practices: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com

Professional Services Overview: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/services

A perimeter firewall is traditionally deployed at the boundary of a network to protect it from external threats. It provides a variety of protections, including blocking unauthorized access, inspecting traffic flows, and safeguarding sensitive resources. Here is how the options apply:

Option A (Correct): Perimeter firewalls provide network layer protection by filtering and inspecting traffic entering or leaving the network at the outer edge. This is one of their primary roles.

Option B: Power utilization is not a functional or architectural aspect of a firewall and is irrelevant when describing the purpose of a perimeter firewall.

Option C: Securing east-west traffic is more aligned with data center firewalls, which monitor lateral (east-west) movement of traffic within a virtualized or segmented environment. A perimeter firewall focuses on north-south traffic instead.

Option D (Correct): A perimeter firewall primarily secures north-south traffic, which refers to traffic entering and leaving the network. It ensures that inbound and outbound traffic adheres to security policies.

Option E (Correct): Perimeter firewalls play a critical role in guarding against external attacks, such as DDoS attacks, malicious IP traffic, and other unauthorized access attempts.

Palo Alto Networks Firewall Deployment Use Cases: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com

Security Reference Architecture for North-South Traffic Control.

The appropriate CDSS subscription to inspect and mitigate suspicious DNS traffic is Advanced DNS Security. Here's why:

Advanced DNS Security protects against DNS-based threats, including domain generation algorithms (DGA), DNS tunneling (often used for data exfiltration), and malicious domains used in attacks. It leverages machine learning to detect and block DNS traffic associated with command-and-control servers or other malicious activities. In this case, unusually high DNS traffic to an unfamiliar IP address is likely indicative of a DNS-based attack or malware activity, making this the most suitable service.

Option A: Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) focuses on identifying and blocking sophisticated threats in network traffic, such as exploits and evasive malware. While it complements DNS Security, it does not specialize in analyzing DNS-specific traffic patterns.

Option B: Advanced WildFire focuses on detecting and preventing file-based threats, such as malware delivered via email attachments or web downloads. It does not provide specific protection for DNS-related anomalies.

Option C: Advanced URL Filtering is designed to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites based on their URLs. While DNS may be indirectly involved in resolving malicious websites, this service does not directly inspect DNS traffic patterns for threats.

Option D (Correct): Advanced DNS Security specifically addresses DNS-based threats. By enabling this service, the customer can detect and block DNS queries to malicious domains and investigate anomalous DNS behavior like the high traffic observed in this scenario.

How to Enable Advanced DNS Security:

Ensure the firewall has a valid Advanced DNS Security license.

Navigate to Objects > Security Profiles > Anti-Spyware.

Enable DNS Security under the 'DNS Signatures' section.

Apply the Anti-Spyware profile to the relevant Security Policy to enforce DNS Security.

Palo Alto Networks Advanced DNS Security Overview: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/dns-security

Best Practices for DNS Security Configuration.