Checkpoint 156-315.81 Check Point Certified Security Expert R81.20 Exam Practice Test

Implicit MEP (Multicast Ethernet Point) options refer to the way multicast traffic is handled within a network. In this case, the question is asking about an implicit MEP option, and the correct answer is:

A. Primary-backup: This is an implicit MEP option where one switch (primary) forwards multicast traffic while the other switch (backup) does not forward the traffic. It is used to ensure redundancy in case the primary switch fails.

B. Source address-based, C. Round-robin, and D. Load Sharing are not implicit MEP options; they are different methods of handling multicast traffic and do not describe the concept of primary-backup.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer as it represents an implicit MEP option.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 The best way to block .exe and .bat file types using Threat Emulation technologies is to enable DLP and select .exe and .bat file type. DLP stands for Data Loss Prevention, and it is a feature that allows administrators to define rules and actions to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access or transfer. One of the DLP rule conditions is File Type, which can be used to block or alert on specific file types, such as .exe and .bat, that may contain malicious code or scripts. The other options are either not related to Threat Emulation technologies, or not effective in blocking .exe and .bat file types. 

The Sticky Decision Function in ClusterXL is primarily used in Load Sharing implementations. In Load Sharing, the pivot member is responsible for determining the destination of new connections and ensures that traffic from the same source IP address is directed to the same cluster member. This ensures session stickiness for the same source IP, improving load sharing efficiency.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

In the context of Check Point remote access clients and Office Mode, the correct answer is:

A. SecuRemote: SecuRemote is a Check Point remote access client that does not provide an Office-Mode Address. Office Mode is a feature that assigns a unique IP address from a designated IP pool to remote users when they connect to the corporate network. SecuRemote does not support this feature.

B. Endpoint Security Suite, C. Endpoint Security VPN, and D. Check Point Mobile are remote access clients that support Office Mode and can provide an Office-Mode Address to remote users.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer as it correctly identifies a remote access client that does not provide an Office-Mode Address.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

Check Point Capsule is a suite of solutions designed to provide comprehensive mobile security and secure access. The components of Check Point Capsule include:

Capsule Docs (Option A): A component that secures document sharing and protects sensitive data.

Capsule Cloud (Option B): A component that provides cloud-based security services.

Capsule Workspace (Option D): A component that provides secure workspace on mobile devices.

Option C, "Capsule Enterprise," is not a recognized component of Check Point Capsule based on the available information. Therefore, it is the correct answer as the component that is NOT part of Check Point Capsule.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 training materials and documentation.

CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that enables the processing CPU cores to concurrently perform multiple tasks on Security Gateways with multiple CPU cores. CoreXL replicates the Firewall kernel multiple times, creating multiple Firewall instances that run on different CPU cores. These Firewall instances handle traffic concurrently, and each Firewall instance is a complete and independent Firewall inspection kernel. To show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances, you can use the command fw ctl multik stat on the Security Gateway. This command will display information such as the number of connections, packets, bytes, drops, and errors handled by each CoreXL FW instance, as well as the CPU utilization and affinity of each instance. The other options are not correct because:

• B. fw ctl affinity -l: This command will show the CPU affinity of all processes and IRQs on the Security Gateway. It will not show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances.
• C. fw ctl instances -v: This command will show the details of all CoreXL FW instances on the Security Gateway, such as their ID, type, state, priority, and interfaces. It will not show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances.
• D. fw ctl iflist: This command will show the list of all interfaces on the Security Gateway, along with their names

References: Part 3 - SecureXL, What is CoreXL & SecureXL, SecureXL Fast Accelerator (fw fast_accel) for R80.20 and above

The Check Point daemon that monitors the other daemons is cpwd (Check Point Watchdog). It is responsible for monitoring the health and status of various Check Point daemons and processes running on the Security Gateway. If any daemon or process stops responding or encounters an issue, cpwd can restart it to ensure the continued operation of the Security Gateway.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

Threat Extraction is a software blade that always delivers a file to user. Threat Extraction removes or sanitizes the active content from the files and converts them to PDF format, which is safer and more compatible. Threat Extraction can also work together with Threat Emulation to provide both clean and original files to the users. Threat Extraction works on MS Office, PDF, and archive files, but not on executables. Threat Extraction can take up to 3 minutes to complete, depending on the file size and complexity. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Threat Extraction Administration Guide

CPM stands for Check Point Management, which is a process that runs on the Security Management server and controls the management operations, such as policy installation, object creation, configuration backup, etc. CPM also controls other processes that are related to the management functions, such as:

• web_services: This process is responsible for providing web services for the communication between SmartConsole and the Security Management server. It handles requests from SmartConsole clients and forwards them to CPM or other processes.
• dle_server: This process is responsible for managing the log files and indexes. It handles queries from SmartLog and SmartEvent and provides log data to CPM or other processes.
• object_Store: This process is responsible for storing and retrieving objects from the database. It handles requests from CPM or other processes and provides object data.

Therefore, the correct answer is D.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. Object-Store, Database changes, CPM Process and web-services: This option includes some processes that are controlled by CPM, such as Object-Store, CPM Process, and web-services, but it also includes Database changes, which is not a process but an action performed by CPM or other processes.
• B. web-services, CPMI process, DLEserver, CPM process: This option includes some processes that are controlled by CPM, such as web-services, DLEserver, and CPM process, but it also includes CPMI process, which is not a process but a protocol used by CPM or other processes to communicate with each other.
• C. DLEServer, Object-Store, CP Process and database changes: This option includes some processes that are controlled by CPM, such as DLEServer and Object-Store, but it also includes CP Process and database changes, which are not processes but a generic term for any Check Point process and an action performed by CPM or other processes respectively.

References: Check Point Processes and Daemons, Check Point Processes Cheat Sheet, Check Point Firewall Security Solution

 The fwaccel stat command on the gateway shows the status of SecureXL acceleration, including the number of accelerated and non-accelerated connections, and the reason for non-acceleration. The reason for non-acceleration can be either a rule that disables templating, or a feature that is not supported by SecureXL. To determine which rule disables templating, the administrator can use the -s option to show the rule numbers and names. For example:

The main difference between SSL VPN (Secure Sockets Layer Virtual Private Network) and IPSec VPN (Internet Protocol Security Virtual Private Network) is in the way they operate:

SSL VPN typically does not require the installation of a resident VPN client. It often relies on a web browser to establish the VPN connection, making it more convenient for remote users who may not want to install dedicated VPN software.

IPSec VPN, on the other hand, often requires the installation of a resident VPN client on the user's device to establish the VPN connection. This client software is necessary for configuring and managing the VPN connection.

Option C, stating that SSL VPN and IPSec VPN are the same, is incorrect because they have distinct characteristics as described above.

Option A is incorrect because it inaccurately suggests that IPSec VPN does not require a resident VPN client, which is not true in most cases.

Option B is incorrect because it wrongly claims that SSL VPN requires the installation of a resident VPN client.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide

 SecureXL is a technology that accelerates the performance of the Check Point Security Gateway by offloading CPU-intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to the SecureXL device. SecureXL can handle various types of traffic, such as TCP, UDP, ICMP, non-IP, VPN, NAT, etc. SecureXL can also work with various features, such as CoreXL, ClusterXL, QoS, etc.

One way to indicate that SecureXL is enabled is to use the fwaccel commands in clish. Clish is a command-line shell that provides a user-friendly interface for configuring and managing Check Point products. The fwaccel commands are used to control and monitor SecureXL operations, such as enabling or disabling SecureXL, viewing SecureXL statistics, managing SecureXL templates, etc. For example, the command fwaccel stat shows the status of SecureXL, such as whether it is on or off, how many packets are accelerated or not accelerated, etc.

The other options are not valid indicators of SecureXL being enabled:

• A. Dynamic objects are available in the Object Explorer: Dynamic objects are objects that represent IP addresses that change over time, such as VPN clients, DHCP clients, etc. Dynamic objects are available in the Object Explorer regardless of whether SecureXL is enabled or not.
• B. SecureXL can be disabled in cpconfig: Cpconfig is a command-line tool that allows you to configure various settings of Check Point products, such as administrator password, GUI clients, SNMP extension, etc. SecureXL can be disabled in cpconfig only if it was enabled before. Therefore, this option does not indicate that SecureXL is enabled.
• D. Only one packet in a stream is seen in a fw monitor packet capture: Fw monitor is a command-line tool that allows you to capture and analyze network traffic passing through the Security Gateway. Fw monitor shows the traffic at different inspection points in the Firewall kernel. If SecureXL is enabled, some packets may be accelerated by SecureXL and bypass the Firewall kernel inspection. Therefore, fw monitor may not see all packets in a stream. However, this does not mean that only one packet in a stream will be seen by fw monitor. Some packets may still go through the Firewall kernel inspection and be seen by fw monitor. Therefore, this option does not indicate that SecureXL is enabled.

Therefore, the correct answer is C.

References: How to enable/disable Check Point SecureXL via CLI, Part 3 - SecureXL, What is SecureXL?, Clish - Command Line Interface Shell, sk30583: What is FW Monitor?

At least 20GB is the recommended size of the root partition when installing a dedicated R81 SmartEvent server. The root partition is the primary partition that contains the operating system files and other essential files for booting and running the system. The SmartEvent server requires at least 20GB of free space on the root partition to install and operate properly. If the root partition size is less than 20GB, you may encounter errors or performance issues with SmartEvent. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, SmartEvent Administration Guide

 User-mode processes are processes that run in the user space of the operating system, as opposed to kernel-mode processes that run in the kernel space. User-mode processes are usually less privileged and have less access to system resources than kernel-mode processes. Check Point products use both user-mode and kernel-mode processes to provide various functionalities and services.

The following are some of the user-mode processes that can be seen on the management server and gateway:

• fwd: This process is responsible for policy installation, logging, and communication with other Check Point components. It runs on both the management server and gateway.
• cpd: This process is responsible for licensing, certificate management, and communication with SmartConsole. It runs on both the management server and gateway.
• cpwd: This process is responsible for monitoring and restarting other processes. It runs on both the management server and gateway.

The following is a user-mode process that can only be seen on the management server:

• fwm: This process is responsible for managing the security policy database, compiling the security policy, and generating reports. It runs only on the management server.

Therefore, the correct answer is B.

References: Check Point Processes and Daemons, Check Point Processes Cheat Sheet, Check Point Firewall Security Solution

In SmartEvent, the administrator can configure different types of automatic reactions, which include:

• Mail notifications
• Blocking the source of the event
• Blocking the event activity
• Running an external script
• Sending an SNMP trap

So, the correct answer is "Mail, Block Source, Block Event Activity, External Script, SNMP Trap."

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to SmartEvent configuration and automatic reactions.

Threat Emulation downloads packages by default once per day. The packages contain updates for the Threat Emulation engine, signatures, and images. The download frequency can be changed in the Threat Prevention policy settings. References: Threat Emulation Administration Guide, Threat Prevention R81 Release Notes

The FWD daemon uses TCP port 256 to do a Full Synchronization between gateway cluster members. This port is also used for other synchronization types, such as Delta Synchronization and Accelerated Synchronization. The FWD daemon is responsible for synchronizing the connections table, NAT table, and VPN keys between cluster members. References: ClusterXL Administration Guide, SK25977 - Ports Used by Check Point Software

 A best practice before starting to troubleshoot using the fw monitor tool is to disable SecureXL. SecureXL is a performance acceleration solution that optimizes the packet flow through the Security Gateway. However, SecureXL can also bypass some inspection points and cause some packets to be invisible to fw monitor. Therefore, disabling SecureXL can ensure that fw monitor captures all the relevant packets for troubleshooting purposes. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, fw monitor, SecureXL

 To add the company logo to reports, you would save the logo as a PNG file with the name ‘cover-company-logo.png’ and then copy that image file to the $RTDIR/smartview/conf directory on the SmartEvent server. The $RTDIR is an environment variable that points to the runtime directory of the SmartEvent server, which is usually /opt/CPrt-R81. The smartview/conf directory contains the configuration files for SmartView, which is a web-based interface for viewing reports and dashboards generated by SmartEvent. References: SmartEvent Administration Guide, SK120193 - How to add a company logo to SmartView reports

The most recommended way to install patches and hotfixes is CPUSE (Check Point Update Service Engine). CPUSE is a tool that automates the process of upgrading and installing software packages on Check Point devices. CPUSE can work in online mode or offline mode. Online mode requires an Internet connection to download the packages from Check Point servers. Offline mode allows you to download the packages manually from another device and transfer them to the target device using a USB drive or SCP. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, CPUSE Administration Guide

The directory /opt/CPsuite-R81/fw1/log contains the log files for the Security Gateway, such as firewall, VPN, IPS, and anti-virus logs1. These log files can be viewed and analyzed using SmartConsole or SmartView2. The other directories are not correct because:

• A. The directory /opt/CPSmartlog-R81/log contains the log files for the SmartLog server, which is a separate component that indexes and searches the logs from multiple Security Gateways3.
• B. The directory /opt/CPshrd-R81/log contains the log files for the shared components of the Check Point suite, such as cpwd, cpca, cpd, and cpwatchdog4.
• D. The directory /opt/CPsuite-R81/log does not exist by default and is not used for logging purposes.

References: Logging and Monitoring R81 Administration Guide, SmartConsole R81 Help, SmartLog R81 Help, Check Point Processes and Daemons

The proxy ARP configuration is stored under the following file:

D. $FWDIR/conf/local.arp on the gateway

This file, local.arp, contains the proxy ARP configuration for the Security Gateway. It is used to configure ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) settings for network communication.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide, Check Point documentation on proxy ARP.

Capsule Connect is a full layer 3 VPN client that provides secure and seamless remote access to corporate networks from iOS and Android devices. It supports all VPN authentication methods, such as certificates, passwords, tokens, and challenge-response. It also supports split tunneling and seamless roaming. References: Capsule Connect Datasheet, Capsule Connect Administration Guide

The correct command to store the GAIA configuration in a file is save configuration 1. This will create a file with the current system level configuration in the home directory of the current user1. The other commands are incorrect because they either do not exist or do not save the configuration to a file. References: 1: Backing up Gaia system level configuration(https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails= &solutionid=sk102234)

Threat Extraction is a software blade that delivers PDF versions of original files with active content removed. Active content, such as macros, scripts, or embedded objects, can be used by attackers to deliver malware or exploit vulnerabilities. Threat Extraction removes or sanitizes the active content from the files and converts them to PDF format, which is safer and more compatible. Threat Extraction can also work together with Threat Emulation to provide both clean and original files to the users. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Threat Extraction Administration Guide

ClusterXL supports Dynamic Routing for both Unicast and Multicast traffic. Dynamic Routing protocols, such as OSPF, BGP, or PIM, can be configured on cluster members to exchange routing information with other routers. ClusterXL supports two modes of operation for Dynamic Routing: New Mode and Legacy Mode. References: ClusterXL Administration Guide, SK98226 - ClusterXL New Mode Overview

Check Point's SecureXL technology, which is responsible for acceleration, has certain limitations and conditions under which acceleration may not occur. In this context, the question is asking about factors that will NOT affect acceleration.

Option B, "A 5-tuple match," will not affect acceleration. A 5-tuple match refers to the matching of source IP, source port, destination IP, destination port, and protocol. SecureXL can accelerate traffic that matches these criteria, but it's not a factor that hinders acceleration.

Options A, C, and D can all affect acceleration:

Option A mentions "Connections destined to or originated from the Security gateway," which implies that SecureXL acceleration can apply to these connections.

Option C mentions "Multicast packets," and SecureXL may have limitations in handling multicast traffic efficiently.

Option D mentions "Connections that have a Handler (ICMP, FTP, H.323, etc.)," and certain protocols (such as FTP) may require special handling and might not be fully accelerated by SecureXL.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide

Multiple administrators can connect to a Security Management Server at the same time. Each administrator has their own username and works in a session that is independent of other administrators. This allows for collaboration and simultaneous management tasks by different administrators.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

Firewall Management (fwm) is available on any management product, including Multi-Domain and on products that requite direct GUI access, such as SmartEvent, It provides the following:

– GUI Client communication

– Database manipulation

– Policy Compilation

– Management HA sync

The command cpinfo –y all displays information about all the hotfixes that are installed on the gateway1. This command also shows the hotfix ID, description, installation date, and status for each hotfix2. The other commands are not valid options for this task. The command cpinfo –h all shows the hardware information of the gateway3. The commands cpinfo –o hotfix and cpinfo –l hotfix do not exist and will return an error message.

References: Hotfix installer - Configuration Manager, How to keep your Security Gateways up to date, Solved: Does it always need to have the higher hotfix vers…

 The SmartEvent Correlation Unit is responsible for analyzing the log entries and identifying events from them. It runs on the Log Server machine or on a dedicated machine1. To check the status of the SmartEvent Correlation Unit, you can use the command cpstat cpsead on the machine where it is installed. This command will show you information such as the number of logs processed, the number of events generated, the CPU and memory usage, and the status of the connection to the SmartEvent Server23.

References: SmartEvent Administration Guide R76, SmartEvent Administration Guide R75, SmartEvent Performance Tuning Guide

The secure application for Mail/Calendar for mobile devices in Check Point is called "Capsule Workspace." Capsule Workspace provides secure access to email and calendar data on mobile devices while maintaining security policies and controls.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

The command cphaprob all show stat is not related to redundancy and functions. This command does not exist in ClusterXL or VRRP. The other commands are valid commands for checking the status of cluster members, interfaces, and synchronization. ClusterXL and VRRP are both high availability solutions that provide redundancy and load balancing for Check Point gateways. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, ClusterXL Administration Guide, VRRP Administration Guide

 For ClusterXL to work properly, one of the mandatory requirements is that the Magic MAC number must be unique per cluster node. The Magic MAC number is a MAC address that is used by ClusterXL to hide the physical MAC addresses of the cluster members from the network. This way, the cluster can present a single virtual MAC address to the network, and avoid ARP issues when a failover occurs. The Magic MAC number is derived from the Cluster Virtual IP address, which must also be unique per cluster. 

The correct command to verify the CPUSE (Check Point Update Service Engine) version is:

Option B is incorrect because it uses the "[Expert@HostName:0]#" prompt, which is typically used for expert mode commands, but the CPUSE version can be checked using the "show installer status build" command in standard mode.

Option C is incorrect because it uses the "[Expert@HostName:0]#" prompt, and while it includes the "build" parameter, it's not the standard command to check the CPUSE version.

Option D is incorrect because it uses the "HostName:0>" prompt, but it lacks the "show" command and uses "build" instead of "status build."

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation

Management HA is a feature that allows the Security Management server to have one or more backup Standby Security Management servers that are ready to take over in case of failure1. The Active Security Management server is the one that handles all the management operations, such as policy installation, object creation, configuration backup, etc. The Standby Security Management servers are synchronized with the Active Security Management server and store the same data, such as databases, certificates, CRLs, etc. The Standby Security Management servers can also perform some operations, such as fetching a Security Policy or retrieving a CRL1.

To make changes to the system, such as editing objects or policies, the administrator needs to connect to the Active Security Management server. This is because the Active Security Management server is the only one that can modify the data and synchronize it with the Standby Security Management servers. The administrator can use SmartConsole to connect to the Active Security Management server by entering its IP address or hostname1. The administrator can also use SmartDashboard to connect to the Active Security Management server by selecting Policy > Management High Availability. This shows information about the Security Management server that includes its peers - displayed with the name, status and type of Security Management server1.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. secondary Smartcenter: This is a synonym for a Standby Security Management server, which cannot be used to make changes to the system.
• C. connect virtual IP of Smartcenter HA: This is not a valid option because there is no virtual IP for Smartcenter HA. Each Security Management server has its own IP address and hostname.
• D. primary Smartcenter: This is a synonym for the Active Security Management server, but it is not the correct term to use. The term primary implies that there is only one Active Security Management server, which is not true. The administrator can put the Active Security Management server on standby and promote a Standby Security Management server to active at any time1.

References: How to Configure Management HA

In a Cpinfo (Checkpoint information) command, various information is collected from a Security Gateway. However, firewall logs are NOT collected from a Security Gateway in a Cpinfo.

A. Firewall logs

The Cpinfo command typically collects information such as configuration and database files, system message logs, OS and network statistics, but it does not include firewall logs. Firewall logs are usually obtained separately using other methods or tools.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide, Check Point documentation on Cpinfo.

SmartView Monitor is a GUI client that is supported in R81. It allows you to monitor the network and security performance of your Security Gateways and devices5. You can use it to view real-time statistics, alerts, logs, reports, and graphs6. The other GUI clients are not supported in R81 because:

• A. SmartProvisioning was replaced by SmartLSM in R80.20 and later versions7. SmartLSM is a unified solution for managing large-scale deployments of Security Gateways8.
• B. SmartView Tracker was replaced by SmartLog in R80 and later versions9. SmartLog is a powerful log analysis tool that enables fast and easy access to log data from multiple Security Gateways10.
• D. SmartLog is not a GUI client, but a web-based application that runs on the Security Management Server or Log Server10. You can access it from any web browser or from SmartConsole.

References: SmartView Monitor R81 Help, SmartView Monitor R81 Administration Guide, What’s New in Check Point R80.20, SmartLSM R81 Help, What’s New in Check Point R80, SmartLog R81 Help

The configuration file that contains the structure of the Security Server showing the port numbers, corresponding protocol name, and status is $FWDIR/conf/fwauthd.conf. This file is used for configuring authentication services in Check Point Security Servers.

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to Security Server configuration.

Check Point API is a set of web services that enable the usage of functions and commands in a dynamic and automated fashion. Check Point API is available in different types, each serving a different purpose and functionality. According to the Check Point Resource Library1, the following are the types of Check Point API available in R81.x:

• Identity Awareness Web Services: This type of API allows external applications to send identity and location information to the Security Gateway, which can then use this information for policy enforcement. Identity Awareness Web Services can be used for scenarios such as guest registration, captive portal, identity agents, etc.
• OPSEC SDK: This type of API provides a framework for developing applications that interact with Check Point products using the OPSEC (Open Platform for Security) protocol. OPSEC SDK can be used for scenarios such as log export, event management, anti-virus integration, etc.
• Management: This type of API allows external applications to perform management operations on the Check Point Management server using RESTful web services. Management API can be used for scenarios such as policy installation, object creation, configuration backup, etc.

Mobile Access is not a type of Check Point API, but rather a feature that provides secure remote access to corporate resources from various devices. Mobile Access uses SSL VPN technology and supports different authentication methods and access scenarios.

References: What is an API Gateway?, How to use Check Point API with Postman quick guide, Home - Check Point Developers, Introduction to RESTful APIs and JSON format, Checkpoint API tutorial, part 1 - getting started

The feature that provides Full Layer3 VPN –IPSec VPN, giving users network access to all mobile applications, is the correct answer.

Capsule Connect/VPN is used to establish secure VPN connections for mobile devices, and the Full Layer3 VPN (IPSec VPN) option provides comprehensive network access.

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to Mobile Access Methods and VPN configurations.

ClusterXL is a clustering technology that provides high availability and load sharing for Security Gateways. ClusterXL uses a proprietary protocol called Check Point Cluster Protocol (CCP) to communicate between cluster members. CCP has two main functions: Health Check and State Synchronization. Health Check is the mechanism that monitors the status and availability of each cluster member and determines which member is the active one. State Synchronization is the mechanism that synchronizes the connection and NAT tables between cluster members to ensure a smooth failover in case of a member failure. CCP uses UDP port 8116 for both Health Check and State Synchronization messages. The other options are not correct because:

• A. CCP and 18190: This option is incorrect because CCP does not use port 18190. Port 18190 is used by Secure Internal Communication (SIC) between Security Gateways and Management Servers.
• B. CCP and 257: This option is incorrect because CCP does not use port 257. Port 257 is used by Check Point Security Management Protocol (CPM) for communication between SmartConsole and Management Servers.
• D. CPC and 8116: This option is incorrect because there is no such protocol as CPC in ClusterXL.

References: ClusterXL R81.20 Administration Guide, ClusterXL Administration Guide R80.40, sk25977 - Ports used by Check Point software

For Management High Availability, the valid synchronization status options are:

A. Collision

B. Down

C. Lagging

D. Never been synchronized

In this context, "Down" indicates that the synchronization is not functioning correctly or that the standby management server is not reachable. This is a valid synchronization status, so the answer is not B.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

In SmartDashboard, Threat Prevention profiles can be assigned to one or more rules. This means that you can have multiple profiles assigned to a single gateway, and each of these profiles can be associated with one or more rules. This allows for granular control over threat prevention settings for different rules or scenarios.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

 SecureXL templates are a mechanism to accelerate the rate of connection establishment by grouping connections that match a particular service and whose sole differentiating element is the source port. SecureXL templates enable even the very first packets of a TCP handshake to be accelerated, without waiting for the Firewall kernel to create a connection entry. The first packets of the first connection on the same service will be forwarded to the Firewall kernel, which will then create a template of the connection. The template will contain all the relevant information for the connection, such as source and destination IP addresses, destination port, NAT information, policy decision, etc. The template will be used by SecureXL to handle subsequent connections on the same service, without involving the Firewall kernel. This reduces the CPU load and increases the throughput.

There are three types of SecureXL templates: Accept, Drop, and NAT. Accept templates are used for connections that are allowed by the Firewall policy. Drop templates are used for connections that are blocked by the Firewall policy. NAT templates are used for connections that require NAT translation. Deny templates are not a valid type of SecureXL template.

References: SecureXL NAT Templates in R80.20 and lower, Part 3 - SecureXL, Security Gateway Performance Optimization - Part 5 - SecureXL

NAT (Network Address Translation) is one item that will not be configured on the R81 Security Management Server when setting up an externally managed log server. NAT is a technique that allows devices with private IP addresses to communicate with devices with public IP addresses by translating the private addresses to public ones. NAT is not relevant for configuring an externally managed log server, which requires only the IP address, SIC (Secure Internal Communication), and FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of the log server. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide

Threat Extraction (Answer B): Threat Extraction always delivers a file, but it removes potentially malicious content from the file before delivering it to the user. It is designed to provide a safe version of the file quickly, taking less than a second to complete.

Threat Emulation (Option A): Threat Emulation does not deliver the original file to the user until it has been thoroughly analyzed for threats. It may take more than 3 minutes to complete the analysis. The emphasis here is on safety and thorough inspection, which may result in a longer processing time.

Therefore, Option B correctly describes the main difference between Threat Extraction and Threat Emulation.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 training materials and documentation.

 If Deyra sees the gateway status as shown in the image, it means that there is a blade reporting a problem. The red exclamation mark indicates that one or more blades on the gateway have an issue that needs attention. The issue could be related to configuration, license, policy, or other factors. Deyra can hover over the icon to see more details about the problem. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, New Courses and Certificates for R81.20 - Check Point CheckMates

The port that the CPM process runs on is TCP 19009. CPM stands for Check Point Management, and it is the main process that runs on the Security Management Server and interacts with SmartConsole clients. CPM is responsible for managing policies, objects, logs, tasks, and other management functions. CPM listens on TCP port 19009 for incoming connections from SmartConsole clients. The other ports are either used by other processes or not related to CPM. 

 What can cause Vanessa unnecessary problems, if she didn’t check all requirements for migration to R81, is missing an installed R77.20 Add-on on Security Management Server. R77.20 Add-on is a package that adds new features and enhancements to R77 Security Management Server, such as support for new appliances, Gaia OS features, VPN features, etc. One of the requirements for migrating to R81 from R77 Security Management Server is to have R77.20 Add-on installed on the server. If Vanessa did not check this requirement and tried to migrate without R77.20 Add-on, she would encounter errors and failures during the migration process. The other options are either not relevant or not problematic for migration to R81. 

AppWiki is the Check Point feature that enables application scanning and the detection. AppWiki is an easy to use tool that lets you search and filter Check Point’s Web 2.0 Applications Database to find out information about internet applications, including social network widgets; filter by a category, tag, or risk level; and search for a keyword or application1. AppWiki helps you to identify and control the applications on your network, and to apply granular policies based on the application type, risk, and characteristics1. AppWiki is integrated with the Check Point Application Control Software Blade, which provides the industry’s strongest application security and identity control to organizations of all sizes1.

References: 1: AppWiki | Check Point Software

Running the command fw unloadlocal on the Security Management Server will remove the installed Security Policy from the local firewall module. This command is useful for troubleshooting purposes when there is a problem with the policy installation or enforcement. However, it will also expose the Security Management Server to potential attacks, so it should be used with caution. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, R81 CCSA & CCSE exams released featuring Promo for… - Check Point …

A star community is a VPN topology where one or more satellites connect to a center gateway. The center gateway can be a Security Gateway or a Security Management Server. The VPN routing option determines how the traffic is routed between the satellites and the center, and between the satellites themselves. There are three VPN routing options available in a star community12:

• To center only: The satellites can only communicate with the center gateway, and not with each other or with any other VPN targets. This option is useful for remote access clients that only need to access resources on the center gateway.
• To center, or through the center to other satellites, to Internet and other VPN targets: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets through the center gateway. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway, as well as on other branch offices, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets.
• To center and to other satellites through center: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites through the center gateway. However, they cannot communicate with Internet hosts or other VPN targets. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway and on other branch offices, but not on Internet hosts or other VPN targets.

Therefore, the options A (To satellites through center only) and D (To center only) are not valid VPN routing options in a star community.

References: 1: Remote Access VPN R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 13 2: Gaia R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 1030

One of the major features in R81 SmartConsole is concurrent administration. This feature allows multiple administrators to work on the same Security Policy simultaneously, without blocking each other or creating conflicts. Concurrent administration improves the efficiency and productivity of security management operations1.

However, not all of the options given are possible considering that AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing the same Security Policy. The correct answer is B. AdminA and AdminB are editing the same rule at the same time. This is not possible because concurrent administration uses a locking mechanism to prevent multiple administrators from modifying the same rule or object at the same time. When an administrator clicks on a rule or an object, it becomes locked and a lock icon appears next to it. The lock icon shows the name of the administrator who is working on that rule or object, and prevents other administrators from editing it until it is unlocked12.

Therefore, the other options are possible considering that AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing the same Security Policy. Option A is possible because a lock icon shows that a rule or an object is locked and will be available when the administrator who locked it finishes working on it or logs out of SmartConsole12. Option C is possible because a lock icon next to a rule informs that any administrator is working on this particular rule, and hovering over the lock icon will show the name of that administrator12. Option D is possible because AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing three different rules at the same time, which does not create any conflicts or blockages12.

 The command that would be used to enable the Penalty Box feature is sim erdos -e 1. Penalty Box is a feature that protects the Security Gateway from DDoS attacks by dropping packets from sources that send excessive traffic. Sim erdos is a command that allows administrators to configure and manage the Penalty Box feature. Sim erdos -e 1 enables the Penalty Box feature on the Security Gateway. The other options are either invalid or perform different functions. 

The SandBlast Agent is designed to prevent malware from spreading within the network if it enters an end user’s system. SandBlast Agent is a lightweight endpoint security solution that protects devices from advanced threats such as ransomware, phishing, zero-day attacks, and data exfiltration. SandBlast Agent uses various technologies such as behavioral analysis, anti-exploitation, anti-ransomware, threat emulation, threat extraction, and forensics to detect and block malware before it can harm the device or the network. The other options are either not the main purpose or not the functionality of SandBlast Agent. 

Check Point APIs let system administrators and developers make changes to the security policy with CLI tools and web-services. You can use an API to:

• Use an automated script to perform common tasks

• Integrate Check Point products with 3rd party solutions

• Create products that use and enhance the Check Point solution

References:

 For packets that do not pass Firewall Kernel Inspection and are rejected by the rule definition, packets are dropped with logs and without sending a negative acknowledgment. Firewall Kernel Inspection is the process of applying security policies and rules to network traffic by the Firewall kernel module. If a packet does not match any rule or matches a rule with an action of Drop or Reject, the packet is dropped by the Firewall kernel module. The difference between Drop and Reject is that Drop silently discards the packet without informing the sender, while Reject discards the packet and sends a negative acknowledgment (such as an ICMP message) to the sender. However, both Drop and Reject actions generate logs that record the details of the dropped packets, such as source, destination, protocol, port, rule number, etc. The other options are either incorrect or describe different scenarios.

The SmartEvent R81 Web application for real-time event monitoring is called SmartEventWeb. SmartEventWeb is a web-based interface that allows administrators to view and analyze security events from various sources, such as logs, reports, incidents, and indicators. SmartEventWeb provides dashboards, widgets, filters, and drill-down options to help administrators gain insights into their security posture. The other options are either incorrect or refer to different applications.

 The order of NAT priorities is determined by the type of NAT rule that is applied to the traffic. There are three types of NAT rules in Check Point: static NAT, IP pool NAT, and hide NAT12.

• Static NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a single IP address to another single IP address. It is usually used to allow external hosts to access internal servers or devices. Static NAT has the highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied before the security policy is enforced12.
• IP pool NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a range of IP addresses to another range of IP addresses. It is usually used to balance the load among multiple servers or devices. IP pool NAT has the second highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.
• Hide NAT: This type of NAT rule hides a group of IP addresses behind a single IP address or an interface. It is usually used to allow internal hosts to access external resources. Hide NAT has the lowest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.

Therefore, the order of NAT priorities is: static NAT, IP pool NAT, hide NAT.

References: 1: Check Point R81 Security Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 209 2: Check Point R81 Security Engineering Guide - Check Point Software, page 163

 UserCheck is a communication tool used to inform a user about a website or application they are trying to access. UserCheck allows administrators to interact with users in real time, informing them of the security policy and the actions they need to take. UserCheck can also enable users to self-remediate incidents or request exceptions from the administrator. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

According to the Check Point website, you can use the pre_upgrade_verifier tool to verify if your management server is ready to upgrade to R81.20. This tool checks the compatibility of your current configuration and database with the target version, and provides a detailed report of any issues or warnings. The other tools are either used for exporting or importing databases, or not valid tools. References: Upgrade Verification Service

Browser-based Authentication is a method of acquiring identities from unidentified users by sending them to a web page where they can log in and authenticate. Browser-based Authentication uses two techniques to acquire identities: Captive Portal and Transparent Kerberos Authentication1.

Captive Portal is a simple method that attempts authentication through a web interface before granting a user access to Intranet resources. When a user tries to access a protected resource, they are redirected to a web page where they have to enter their credentials. The credentials are verified by the Identity Awareness Security Gateway or an external authentication server. If the authentication is successful, the user’s identity is associated with their IP address and they are allowed to access the resource12.

Transparent Kerberos Authentication is a more seamless method that leverages the existing Kerberos infrastructure in the network. When a user tries to access a protected resource, the Identity Awareness Security Gateway intercepts the Kerberos ticket request and extracts the user’s identity from it. The user’s identity is then associated with their IP address and they are allowed to access the resource without any additional prompts. This method requires that the Identity Awareness Security Gateway is configured as a trusted proxy in the Active Directory domain12.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Browser-based Authentication sends users to a web page to acquire identities using Captive Portal and Transparent Kerberos Authentication.

References:

• 1, THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS ROLES - Check Point Software, page 2
• 2, Browser-based Authentication Check Point - Bing
• 3, How to Configure Client Authentication - Check Point Software, page 1
• 4, Identity Sources - Check Point Software
• 5, Configuring Browser-Based Authentication - Check Point Software
• 6, Two Factor Authentication - Check Point Software

SandBlast agent extends zero-day prevention to web browsers and user devices. Zero-day prevention is a capability that protects devices from unknown and emerging threats that exploit vulnerabilities that have not been patched or disclosed. SandBlast Agent provides zero-day prevention by using various technologies such as threat emulation, threat extraction, anti-exploitation, anti-ransomware, and behavioral analysis. SandBlast Agent protects web browsers and user devices from malicious downloads, phishing links, drive-by downloads, browser exploits, malicious scripts, and more. 

To change the number of firewall instances used by CoreXL, the cpconfig command must be used, followed by a reboot. CoreXL is a technology that improves the performance of the Security Gateway by using multiple cores to handle concurrent connections. The number of firewall instances determines how many cores are dedicated to CoreXL. The cpconfig command allows the administrator to configure various settings on the Security Gateway, including the number of firewall instances. After changing this setting, a reboot is required for the changes to take effect. The other commands are either incorrect or do not require a reboot.

 The TCP/IP model is a four-layer model that describes how data is transmitted over a network. The four layers are: Application, Transport, Internet, and Network Access. The Application layer provides services and protocols for applications to communicate with each other. The Transport layer provides reliable or unreliable data delivery between hosts. The Internet layer provides routing and addressing of packets across networks. The Network Access layer provides physical and logical access to the network media. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

The Access Control policy supports two policy layers. These are the Network layer and the Application & URL Filtering layer. The Network layer contains rules that control the network traffic based on the source, destination, service, and action. The Application & URL Filtering layer contains rules that control the application and web access based on the application, site category, and user identity12.

The Access Control policy can also use inline layers, which are sub-policies that are embedded within a rule. Inline layers allow more granular control over specific traffic or scenarios, such as VPN, Mobile Access, or different user groups13. However, inline layers are not considered as separate policy layers, but rather as extensions of the parent rule4.

Therefore, the correct answer is A. The Access Control policy supports two policy layers.

References:

• 1, Policy Layers in R80.x - Check Point CheckMates
• 2, Access Control policies, layers, and rules | Check Point Firewall …
• 3, Chapter 8: Introduction to Policies, Layers, and Rules - Check Point …
• 4, Creating an Access Control Policy - Check Point Software

 The most ideal Synchronization Status for Security Management Server High Availability deployment is Synchronized. Security Management Server High Availability deployment is a feature that allows two or more Security Management Servers to provide redundancy and load balancing for managing security policies and logs. Synchronization Status is a parameter that indicates how up-to-date the databases of the Security Management Servers are with each other. Synchronization Status can have one of the following values: Synchronized, Lagging, Never been synchronized, or Collision. Synchronized means that the databases of all Security Management Servers are identical and have no conflicts. This is the most ideal status as it ensures consistency and reliability of security management. Lagging means that one or more Security Management Servers have not received all the updates from other Security Management Servers, and their databases are outdated. Never been synchronized means that one or more Security Management Servers have never synchronized their databases with other Security Management Servers, and their databases are independent. Collision means that one or more Security Management Servers have received conflicting updates from other Security Management Servers, and their databases have discrepancies. 

 In Logging and Monitoring, the tracking options are Log, Detailed Log and Extended Log. The option that can be added to each Log, Detailed Log and Extended Log is Accounting/Suppression. Accounting/Suppression is a feature that allows administrators to control how often logs are generated for certain rules or connections. Accounting means that logs are generated periodically based on a specified interval or volume. Suppression means that logs are generated only for the first and last packet of a connection or session. Accounting/Suppression can be added to any tracking option to reduce the number of logs and save disk space.

The file that gives you a list of all security servers in use, including port number, is $FWDIR/conf/fwauthd.conf. Security servers are processes that handle application-level protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc., and perform security checks on them. Fwauthd.conf is a configuration file that defines which security servers are enabled, which ports they listen on, and which inspection points they are attached to. 

The formats in which Threat Emulation forensics reports can be viewed in are PDF, HTML, and XML. Threat Emulation is a feature that detects and prevents zero-day attacks by emulating files in a sandbox environment and analyzing their behavior. Threat Emulation generates forensics reports that provide detailed information about the emulated files, such as verdict, severity, activity summary, screenshots, network activity, registry activity, file activity, and process activity. These reports can be viewed in PDF, HTML, or XML formats from SmartConsole or SmartView.

The command that shows the status of processes is cpwd_admin list. Cpwd_admin is a command that allows administrators to manage processes that are registered with the Check Point WatchDog (CPWD) daemon. CPWD is a daemon that monitors the health of critical processes on the Security Gateway or Management Server, and restarts them if they fail or stop responding. Cpwd_admin list shows the process name, PID, status, start time, monitor status, and number of restarts for each process registered with CPWD. 

 When SecureXL is enabled, all packets should be accelerated, except packets that match the following conditions: CIFS packets. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. However, some packets cannot be accelerated by SecureXL due to various reasons, such as unsupported features, security policy settings, or protocol limitations. One example of packets that cannot be accelerated by SecureXL are CIFS packets, which are used for file sharing and access over SMB protocol. CIFS packets are not accelerated by SecureXL because they require stateful inspection by the Firewall kernel. 

The essential means by which state synchronization works to provide failover in the event an active member goes down, ccp is used specifically for clustered environments to allow gateways to report their own state and learn about the states of other members in the cluster. Ccp stands for Cluster Control Protocol, and it is a proprietary protocol that runs on UDP port 8116. Ccp is responsible for exchanging state information, health checks, load balancing decisions, and synchronization network configuration between cluster members. The other options are either commands or daemons that are related to cluster operations, but not the protocol itself. 

 According to the Check Point website, Vanessa needs to fill in the following details in the System Restore window before she can click OK button and test the backup: Server, Protocol, Username, Password, Path, Comment, All Members. These details specify the source and destination of the backup file, as well as the scope of the restore operation. The other options are either missing or incorrect details. References: System Restore

Tom’s changes will have been stored on the Management when he reconnects and he will not lose any of his work.

This is because SmartConsole has a feature called Concurrent Administration, which allows multiple administrators to work on the same Security Policy simultaneously, without blocking each other or creating conflicts. Concurrent Administration uses a locking mechanism to prevent multiple administrators from modifying the same rule or object at the same time. When an administrator clicks on a rule or an object, it becomes locked and a lock icon appears next to it. The lock icon shows the name of the administrator who is working on that rule or object, and prevents other administrators from editing it until it is unlocked12.

Concurrent Administration also has a feature called Session Persistence, which preserves the changes made by an administrator in case of a network failure or a SmartConsole crash. When an administrator reconnects to the Management Server after a network failure or a SmartConsole crash, they can resume their work from where they left off, without losing any changes. The changes are stored locally on the administrator’s machine until they are published to the Management Server13.

Therefore, if Tom has connected to the R81 Management Server remotely using SmartConsole and is in the process of making some Rule Base changes, when he suddenly loses connectivity, his changes will not be lost. They will be stored locally on his machine and he can resume his work when he reconnects to the Management Server.

 The first thing that must be done if “fwm sic_reset” could not be completed is to change internal CA via cpconfig. Fwm sic_reset is a command that allows administrators to reset Secure Internal Communication (SIC) between Security Management Server and Security Gateways or other Check Point modules. SIC is a mechanism that ensures secure and authenticated communication between Check Point components by using certificates issued by an internal Certificate Authority (ICA). If fwm sic_reset fails, it means that there is a problem with the ICA or the certificates that prevents SIC from being reset. To resolve this problem, administrators need to change internal CA via cpconfig, which is a command that allows administrators to configure various settings on Security Gateways or Management Servers, including the ICA. Changing internal CA via cpconfig will create a new ICA with a new certificate, and allow SIC to be reset with the new certificate.

 Application Control is the software blade that provides Application Security and identity control. It allows administrators to define granular policies based on users or groups to identify, block or limit the usage of web applications and widgets. Application Control also integrates with Identity Awareness to provide user-level visibility and control. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

The best suggestion for Pamela to make sure she successfully captures entire traffic in context of Firewall and problematic traffic is: Pamela should check SecureXL status on DMZ Security gateway and if it’s turned ON. She should turn OFF SecureXL before using fw monitor to avoid misleading traffic captures. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. However, this also means that some traffic might not be seen by fw monitor, which is a tool that captures packets at different inspection points in the Firewall kernel. Therefore, to ensure that fw monitor captures all traffic, SecureXL should be turned OFF before using fw monitor. The other suggestions are either incorrect or less effective in capturing traffic. 

The process that handles connection from SmartConsole R81 is cpm. Cpm stands for Check Point Management, and it is the main process that runs on the Security Management Server and interacts with SmartConsole clients. Cpm is responsible for managing policies, objects, logs, tasks, and other management functions. The other processes are either obsolete or irrelevant for SmartConsole connection.

 The Logs and Monitor tab is used to monitor network and security performance in SmartConsole. The Logs and Monitor tab lets you view and analyze logs, events, reports, and alerts from various sources, such as Security Gateways, Security Management Servers, Endpoint Security Servers, and SmartEvent Servers. You can also use the Logs and Monitor tab to create custom views, filters, queries, and charts to display the data that is relevant to your needs12.

References: 1: Check Point R81 Security Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 23 2: Check Point R81 SmartConsole User Guide - Check Point Software, page 9

 According to the Check Point R81 release notes, you can access the ThreatCloud Repository from R81.20 SmartConsole and Threat Prevention. The ThreatCloud Repository is a cloud-based service that provides real-time threat intelligence and updates to Check Point products. The other options are either outdated or nonexistent. References: Check Point R81

According to the Check Point website, INSPECT Engine is the technology that extracts detailed information from packets and stores that information in state tables. INSPECT Engine is the core of Check Point’s Stateful Inspection technology, which enables Security Gateways to inspect traffic at multiple layers and enforce security policies. The other technologies are either not related or not specific enough. References: INSPECT Engine

The option that is NOT an option to calculate the traffic direction is Outgoing. Traffic direction is a parameter that determines how traffic is classified as internal or external based on its source and destination. Traffic direction can be calculated using three options: Incoming, Internal, or External. Incoming means that traffic is classified as internal if its destination is one of the Security Gateway’s interfaces, and external otherwise. Internal means that traffic is classified as internal if its source or destination belongs to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. External means that traffic is classified as internal if both its source and destination belong to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. Outgoing is not a valid option to calculate traffic direction. 

The path to monitor the compliance status of the Check Point R81.20 based management is Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. Compliance View is a feature that allows administrators to monitor and assess the compliance level of their Check Point products and security policies based on best practices and industry standards. Compliance View provides a dashboard that shows the overall compliance status, compliance score, compliance trends, compliance issues, compliance reports, and compliance blades for different security aspects, such as data protection, threat prevention, identity awareness, etc. To access Compliance View in R81.20 SmartConsole, administrators need to go to Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. The other options are either incorrect or not available in R81.20.

The default commands that appear when right-clicking the IP address, source or destination, in an event in SmartEvent are ping, whois, nslookup, and Telnet. SmartEvent is a unified security event management solution that provides visibility, analysis, and reporting of security events across multiple Check Point products. SmartEvent has a feature that allows administrators to run common command line executables that can assist in investigating events. Right-clicking the IP address, source or destination, in an event provides a list of default and customized commands that can be executed on the IP address of the active cell. The default commands are ping, whois, nslookup, and Telnet. Ping is a command that tests the connectivity and latency between two hosts by sending packets and measuring the response time. Whois is a command that queries a database for information about the owner and registrar of a domain name or an IP address. Nslookup is a command that queries a DNS server for information about a domain name or an IP address, such as its IP address, name server, mail server, etc. Telnet is a command that establishes a remote connection to another host using the Telnet protocol. 

 Office mode is a feature that allows a security gateway to assign a remote client an IP address from a network that is protected by the security gateway. This way, the remote client can access resources on the internal network as if it was physically connected to it. The IP address is assigned to the remote client after the user authenticates for a tunnel, and it is routable, meaning that it can be reached by other hosts on the network. Office mode is useful for scenarios where the remote client needs to use applications that rely on IP addresses, such as VoIP or file sharing12.

References: 1: Support, Support Requests, Training … - Check Point Software 2: Gaia R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software

With SecureXL enabled, accelerated packets will pass through the following: Network Interface Card and the Acceleration Device. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. Accelerated packets are packets that match certain criteria and can be handled by SecureXL without involving the Firewall kernel. These packets bypass the OSI Network Layer, OS IP Stack, and Check Point Firewall Kernel, and are processed directly by the Network Interface Card and the Acceleration Device. The other options are either incorrect or describe non-accelerated packets. 

The default port used by the AMON server when using CPSTAT is 18192. CPSTAT is a command-line tool that allows administrators to monitor various statistics and status information about Check Point products and components, such as CPU usage, memory usage, policy installation, cluster state, etc. CPSTAT uses AMON (Advanced Monitoring) protocol to communicate with AMON server, which is a daemon that runs on Security Gateways or Management Servers and collects and provides AMON data. By default, AMON server listens on TCP port 18192 for incoming CPSTAT requests.

According to the Check Point R81 training course, the Proxy ARP feature for Manual NAT in R81.20 requires the configuration of the local.arp file on the Security Gateway. This file contains the mapping of IP addresses to MAC addresses for NATed hosts. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

According to the Check Point website, GAiA Software update packages can be imported and installed offline in situation where the Security Gateway with GAiA does not have access to Internet. This allows you to manually download the packages from another device and transfer them to the Security Gateway using a USB drive or other media. The other situations are either not relevant or not possible. References: Offline Software Updates

Identity Awareness maps usernames to IP addresses by collecting Windows Security Events from Active Directory Domain Controllers. These events include Account Logon, Kerberos Ticket Requested, and Kerberos Ticket Renewed. These events indicate that a user has successfully authenticated to the domain and obtained a Kerberos ticket for accessing network resources. Identity Awareness can use these events to associate the username with the source IP address of the authentication request.

However, Kerberos Ticket Timed Out is not a Windows Security Event that Identity Awareness can use to map usernames to IP addresses. This event indicates that a user’s Kerberos ticket has expired and needs to be renewed. This event does not contain the source IP address of the user, only the username and the ticket information. Therefore, Identity Awareness cannot use this event to map a username to an IP address.

References:

• 1, Training & Certification | Check Point Software, section “Security Expert R81.20 (CCSE) Core Training”
• 2, Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview, page 1
• 3, Check Point Certified Security Expert R81, page 5
• 5, Identity Awareness Administration Guide R81, section “How Identity Awareness Collects Identities”

 The deployment of Check Point API does not have the purpose of creating a customized GUI Client for manipulating the objects database. The Check Point API is a web service that allows external applications to interact with the Check Point management server using standard methods such as HTTP(S) requests and JSON objects. The Check Point API can be used to execute an automated script to perform common tasks, create products that use and enhance the Check Point solution, and integrate Check Point products with 3rd party solutions. However, creating a customized GUI Client for manipulating the objects database is not a supported or intended use case of the Check Point API. 

 According to the Check Point R81 training course, the medium path is available only when CoreXL is enabled. CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that allows multiple CPU cores to process traffic simultaneously. The medium path handles packets that require deeper inspection or content awareness, such as IPS, Anti-Virus, or URL Filtering. The other paths are either available regardless of CoreXL or not valid terms. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

You plan to automate creating new objects using new R81 Management API. You decide to use GAIA CLI for this task.

The first step to run management API commands on GAIA’s shell is mgmt_login. This command allows you to login to the management server and obtain a session ID, which is required for running other management API commands. You can also specify the user name and password as parameters, or enter them interactively. The session ID is stored in the file $CPDIR/tmp/.api_session by default, unless you specify a different file name. References: R81 Management API Reference Guide, page 15.

The Check Point Compliance Blade is a security management tool that monitors the compliance status of the Security Gateways and Security Management Servers with various regulatory standards1. The Compliance Blade supports the following regulatory standards2:

• GLBA: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is a US federal law that requires financial institutions to protect the privacy and security of their customers’ personal information.
• CJIS: The Criminal Justice Information Services Division, also known as CJIS, is a division of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that provides criminal justice information services to law enforcement, national security, and intelligence agencies. CJIS has a set of security policies and requirements that govern the access, use, and protection of the CJIS data.
• NCIPA: The National Counterintelligence and Security Center Insider Threat Program Maturity Framework, also known as NCIPA, is a US government framework that provides guidance and best practices for establishing and enhancing insider threat programs within federal agencies. NCIPA defines five levels of maturity for insider threat programs, from initial to optimized.
• SOCI: This is not a valid option for a configurable Compliance Regulation. There is no such regulatory standard with this acronym. However, there is a similar acronym, SOC 2, which stands for Service Organization Control 2, which is a set of standards and criteria for auditing the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of service providers that store, process, or transmit customer data3.

Therefore, the correct answer is C, as SOCI is not a configurable Compliance Regulation.

References: 1: ATRG: Compliance Blade (R80.10 and higher) - Check Point Software 3 2: Check Point R81 - Check Point Software 1 3: SOC 2 Compliance Checklist: What You Need to Know - Varonis

 Secure Configuration Verification (SCV) is a feature that allows the Mobile Access Gateway to check the compliance of remote access clients with the enterprise security policy before granting them access to internal resources. SCV checks can be defined in a file named local.scv, which is located in the $FWDIR/conf directory on the Mobile Access Gateway1. The file can be edited manually or using the SCV Editor tool2. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

References: 1: Secure Configuration Verification 2: SCV Editor

 By default, when the CPUSE Software Updates Policy is set to Automatic, updates are checked every three hours3. This means that the CPUSE agent will automatically download and install updates that match the policy settings every three hours. The other options are not the default values for the CPUSE Software Updates Policy. References: 3: Check Point Software, Getting Started, CPUSE Software Updates Policy.

 The Full Log tracking option includes more information than the Log tracking option, such as the data type of the traffic. The data type indicates the type of content that was transferred, such as text, image, video, or audio. The data type can be used for filtering and reporting purposes. The Log tracking option only includes basic information, such as source, destination, service, action, and time.

 The log server sends logs to the Correlation Unit. The Correlation Unit analyzes the logs and generates events based on the event policy. The events are then sent to the SmartEvent Server, which displays them in the SmartEvent GUI. References: [SmartEvent Administration Guide]

 It is false that it is not necessary to establish SIC between the primary and secondary management server, since the latter gets the exact same copy of the management database from the prior. In fact, SIC is required between the primary and secondary management server for Management HA to work properly. SIC ensures secure communication between the management servers and allows the standby server to receive updates from the active server. Without SIC, the standby server will not be able to synchronize with the active server and will not be ready to take over in case of a failover.

References:

• Solved: Management HA - Check Point CheckMates, section “Synchronizing Active and Standby Servers”
• CheckPoint Management Server R81 HA Configuration | Udemy, section “How to set it up in the PNET lab environment”
• Check Point R81, section “Management High Availability”

 A clientless remote access VPN deployment is used to provide remote users with secure access to internal corporate resources by authenticating the user through an internet browser. A clientless remote access VPN does not require any software installation or configuration on the user’s device. Instead, it uses a web-based portal that acts as a proxy between the user and the corporate resources. The user can access web applications and services through the portal using a standard web browser that supports SSL/TLS encryption. The portal can also provide single sign-on (SSO) capabilities for SAML-enabled applications. A clientless remote access VPN is suitable for scenarios where users need to access mainly web-based resources from unmanaged devices or devices that cannot run VPN clients.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A client-based remote access VPN deployment is used to provide remote users with secure access to internal corporate resources by installing a VPN client software on the user’s device. A client-based remote access VPN requires software installation and configuration on the user’s device. It uses IPsec or SSL/TLS protocols to create a secure tunnel between the user’s device and the VPN gateway. The user can access any type of resource through the tunnel using any application that supports TCP/IP protocols. A client-based remote access VPN is suitable for scenarios where users need to access various types of resources from managed devices or devices that can run VPN clients.
• A clientless direct access deployment is not a valid term for a VPN deployment. Direct access is a feature of Windows Server that allows remote users to securely access internal corporate resources without using a VPN connection. Direct access uses IPv6 transition technologies and IPsec protocols to create a secure connection between the user’s device and the direct access server. The user can access any type of resource through the connection using any application that supports TCP/IP protocols. Direct access requires software installation and configuration on both the user’s device and the direct access server.
• A direct access deployment is not a term for a VPN deployment, but a feature of Windows Server that allows remote users to securely access internal corporate resources without using a VPN connection. Direct access uses IPv6 transition technologies and IPsec protocols to create a secure connection between the user’s device and the direct access server. The user can access any type of resource through the connection using any application that supports TCP/IP protocols. Direct access requires software installation and configuration on both the user’s device and the direct access server.

 Permanent VPN tunnels can be set on all tunnels in the community, on all tunnels for specific gateways, or on specific tunnels in the community. Permanent VPN tunnels are always active and prevent VPN tunnel negotiation failures due to idle time or traffic volume. You can configure permanent VPN tunnels in SmartConsole by selecting the Permanent Tunnel option in the VPN Community Properties window.

 The command to add users to or from existing roles is add rba user roles . This command allows you to assign one or more roles to a user in the Gaia database. Roles are collections of permissions that define what actions a user can perform on the system. You can use predefined roles or create your own custom roles. To remove a role from a user, you can use the command delete rba user roles . 

To see historical data with cpview, you can use the cpview -t command, where is the date and time you want to view. For example, cpview -t Jan 01 2023 12:00:00 will show you the cpview data for January 1st, 2023 at noon. You can also enter a partial date, such as Jan 02, to see the data for the whole day. This feature is available in R77.10 and higher versions of Check Point software1. You can also access the historical data by pressing the “t” key while running cpview in live mode and entering the desired date and time1. The historical data is stored in the CPViewDB.dat file in the /var/log/CPView_history directory on your gateway2. You can export this file and import it into other tools for visualization, such as Grafana3.

 According to out of the box SmartEvent policy, the blade that will automatically be correlated into events is IPS. IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) is a blade that detects and prevents network attacks by inspecting traffic and applying signatures and protections. SmartEvent correlates IPS logs into events based on predefined event definitions, such as IPS Attack, IPS Attack High Confidence, IPS Attack Critical Confidence, etc. The other blades are not automatically correlated into events by default, but they can be added to the SmartEvent policy manually. References: [SmartEvent Policy]

The pre-defined Permission Profile that should be assigned to an administrator that requires full access to audit all configurations without modifying them is Read Only All. This profile grants read-only access to all features and blades in SmartConsole, including logs and reports. This profile is suitable for auditors who need to review the security policy and settings, but not change them. References: R81 Security Management Administration Guide, page 57.

 If the first packet of a UDP session is rejected by a rule definition from within a security policy (not including the clean up rule), nothing is sent back through the kernel. This is because UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not require an acknowledgement from the receiver. Therefore, if a UDP packet is dropped by the Firewall, the sender will not receive any feedback or notification. References: UDP Protocol

The correct order of a log flow processed by SmartEvent components is: Firewall > Log Server > Correlation Unit > SmartEvent Server Database > SmartEvent Client. The Firewall generates logs for traffic and security events. The Log Server receives and stores the logs from the Firewall. The Correlation Unit analyzes the logs and generates SmartEvent events based on predefined or custom rules. The SmartEvent Server Database stores the events generated by the Correlation Unit. The SmartEvent Client displays the events and reports from the SmartEvent Server Database. References: : Check Point Resource Library, Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview, page 12; : Check Point Software, Training & Certification, SmartEvent Introduction.

 The attribute that is not used for identifying a connection by packet acceleration (SecureXL) is TCP Acknowledgment Number. SecureXL identifies connections by using a hash function that takes into account the following attributes: source address, destination address, source port, destination port, protocol, and VPN ID. The TCP Acknowledgment Number is not part of the hash function and does not affect the connection identification. References: [SecureXL Mechanism]

https //sc1.checkpoint.com/documents/R77/CP R77_Firewall_WebAdmm/92711.htm

 The option that allows traffic to VPN gateways in specific VPN communities is Specific VPN Communities. This option lets you specify which VPN communities are allowed or denied by the rule. A VPN community is a group of VPN gateways or hosts that share the same VPN policy and keys. You can create different types of VPN communities, such as star, meshed, or remote access, depending on your network topology and security requirements. You can also use tags to group VPN gateways or hosts into logical categories. 

 The multicast destination assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for VRRP is 224.0.0.18. This is a reserved multicast address that is used by VRRP routers to communicate with each other and announce their priority and state. Firewall policies must be configured to accept VRRP packets on the Gaia platform if it runs Firewall software. Otherwise, VRRP packets will be dropped by default. References: [Configuring VRRP on Gaia]

 A pre-shared secret is a secret key that is shared between the two VPN peers before establishing a secure connection. It is used to authenticate the VPN peers and encrypt the VPN traffic. A pre-shared secret is required for a site-to-site VPN tunnel that does not use certificates, because certificates are another way of authenticating the VPN peers using public key cryptography. Without certificates, the VPN peers need to have a common secret key that only they know. References: Check Point R81 VPN Administration Guide, page 13

To manually failover a cluster during a zero-downtime upgrade, you can use the command clusterXL_admin down on the active cluster member. This command will gracefully change the state of the cluster member to down and trigger a failover to the standby cluster member. This way, you can upgrade the cluster member that is now down without affecting the traffic processed by the other cluster member. You can then use the command clusterXL_admin up to bring the upgraded cluster member back online and repeat the process for the other cluster member. This command is useful for testing and debugging purposes and does not survive reboot unless you add the -p option or use the set cluster member admin down/up permanent command in clish1. The other commands are not valid for initiating a manual failover. The set cluster member down command is used to remove a cluster member from a cluster. The cpstop command is used to stop all Check Point services on a gateway. The set clusterXL down command does not exist.

The mechanism that can ensure that the Security Gateway can communicate with the Management Server with ease in situations with overwhelmed network resources is called Management Data Plane Separation (MDPS)1. MDPS is a feature that allows a Security Gateway to have isolated Management and Data networks. The network system of each domain (plane) is independent and includes interfaces, routes, sockets, and processes. The Management Plane is a domain that accesses, provisions, and monitors the Security Gateway. The Data Plane is a domain that handles all other traffic1. MDPS has the following benefits2:

• It improves the performance and stability of the Security Gateway by separating the management traffic from the data traffic.
• It enhances the security of the Security Gateway by preventing any packet from crossing between the planes.
• It simplifies the network configuration and troubleshooting by having separate routing tables for each plane. MDPS is supported on Check Point Appliances with R80.40 and higher versions1. It is also supported on Quantum Maestro and Quantum Scalable Chassis with R81.20 and higher versions3. MDPS can be configured using Gaia Clish commands or Gaia Portal1. References: Management Data Plane Separation (MDPS) - Check Point Software, Tip of the Week: Management Data Plane Separation - Check Point CheckMates, Management Data Plane Separation (MDPS) on Maestro R81.20 - Check Point Software

 Certificate Authority (CA) is a service that issues and manages digital certificates for secure communication between Check Point components. CA can be installed on a Security Management Server or on a dedicated server. CA can be configured as primary or secondary in a High Availability cluster. The cpconfig command is used to run the Check Point Configuration Tool on Gaia OS, which allows users to configure various settings for Check Point products. One of the configuration options is Certificate Authority, which shows if CA is installed on the server and if it is primary or secondary5. Therefore, Alice needs to look for this option to check the CA status.

References: 5: cpconfig

Communication between different Check Point components is secured by using SIC, which stands for secure internal communication. SIC is a certificate-based channel that uses standards-based TLS 1.2 for creating secure connections and AES128 for encryption. SIC ensures that only authorized components can communicate with each other and that the communication is protected from eavesdropping and tampering. SIC is established by using a one-time password (OTP) that is generated when a Check Point component is created or installed. The OTP is used to initialize the trust relationship between the component and the Security Management Server, which acts as an internal certificate authority (ICA) that issues and revokes certificates for the components. 

 CoreXL is not supported when one of the following features is enabled: Check Point QoS (Quality of Service), Route-based VPN, IPv6 on IPSO, or Overlapping NAT. CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that allows multiple CPU cores to concurrently handle network traffic. IPS is supported by CoreXL and can benefit from its acceleration. References: : Check Point Software, Getting Started, CoreXL; : Check Point Software, Getting Started, IPS.

When running a query on your logs, to find records for user Toni with machine IP of 10.0.4.210 but exclude her tablet IP of 10.0.4.76, you would use the following query syntax:

“Toni” AND 10.0.4.210 NOT 10.0.4.76

This query will match logs that contain the exact phrase “Toni” and the IP address 10.0.4.210, but not the IP address 10.0.4.76. The quotation marks around “Toni” ensure that only logs with that exact word are matched, not variations like Toni? or To**. The AND operator combines two conditions that must both be true, while the NOT operator excludes logs that match a certain condition. References: [SmartLog User Guide]

After verifying that API Server is not running, you can start the API Server by running the command “api start” in Expert mode. This command will start the API Server process (cpm_api) and enable it to run automatically after reboot. You can also use the command “api enable” to enable the API Server without starting it immediately. The other commands are either incorrect or not related to the API Server. The set api command is used in CLISH mode to configure API settings, such as port, domain, or certificate. The mgmt_cli command is used in Expert mode to execute API commands, such as login, logout, show, set, etc. References: [API Server]

The lowest gateway version supported by R81.20 management server is R77.30. According to the Check Point Release Map1, you can upgrade to R81.20 from R77.30, R80, R80.10, R80.20.M1, R80.20, R80.20SP, R80.20.M2, R80.20 3.10, R80.30, R80.30 3.10, R80.30SP, R80.40, R81 and R81.20. However, to upgrade from R77.30, R80 and R80.10, you first need to upgrade to R80.40. For more information, you can refer to the Check Point R81.20 (Titan) Release Home page2 or the Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview3.

 The main objective when using Application Control is to ensure security and privacy of information. Application Control is a blade that enables administrators to control access to web applications and web sites based on categories, users, groups, machines, and time. Application Control can also block or limit usage of applications that pose security risks or consume excessive bandwidth2. References: Check Point R81 Application Control Administration Guide

 The “unknown” SIC status shown on SmartConsole means that there is no connection between the Security Gateway and Security Management Server. SIC stands for Secure Internal Communication, which is a mechanism that ensures secure communication between Check Point components using certificates and encryption. SIC status can be one of the following: Trust established, Trust expired, Uninitialized, or Unknown. Trust established means that SIC is working properly and the components can communicate securely. Trust expired means that the SIC certificate has expired and needs to be renewed. Uninitialized means that SIC has not been configured yet and needs to be initialized with an activation key. Unknown means that the Security Management Server cannot reach the Security Gateway or vice versa, and therefore cannot verify the SIC status. This could be due to network issues, firewall rules, routing problems, or other causes that prevent connectivity between the components. References: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide, page 32-33

Rugged appliances are small appliances with ruggedized hardware that are designed for harsh environments. Like Quantum Spark appliances, they use Gaia embedded as their operating system. Gaia embedded is a lightweight version of Gaia that supports a subset of features and commands. References: [Check Point R81 Gaia Embedded Administration Guide]

You can disable the SecureXL mechanism temporarily for further diagnostic by running fwaccel off on the Security Gateway1. This command disables SecureXL, which is an acceleration solution that maximizes the performance of the Firewall by offloading CPU-intensive operations to the SecureXL device2. Disabling SecureXL can help you troubleshoot connectivity or policy issues, as it forces all traffic to go through the Firewall kernel and bypass the SecureXL device1. To run this command, you need to access the Security Gateway in expert mode and run fwaccel off1. To enable SecureXL again, you can run fwaccel on1. Note that disabling SecureXL may affect the performance of the Security Gateway, so use it with caution and only when necessary1.

References: How to enable/disable Check Point SecureXL via CLI - Check Point Software, SecureXL - Check Point Software

 Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a protocol that allows remote management and monitoring of Windows systems. It is used by AD Query to connect to the Active Directory Domain Controllers and query them for user and computer information. AD Query uses WMI to get real-time updates on user logon events, group membership changes, and computer status changes. WMI is not the same as LDAP, which is a protocol for accessing and modifying directory services. HTTPS and RDP are also different protocols that are not used by AD Query. References: Check Point R81 Identity Awareness Administration Guide, page 17

 A certificate-based VPN tunnel between two gateways with separate management systems requires mutually trusted certificate authorities. This means that each gateway must have a certificate issued by a certificate authority (CA) that the other gateway trusts. The CA can be either an internal CA or an external CA. The CA issues certificates that contain the public key and identity information of the gateway. The gateway uses its private key to sign and encrypt the VPN traffic. The other gateway can verify the signature and decrypt the traffic using the public key in the certificate. This ensures the authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of the VPN tunnel.

References:

• Remote Access VPN R81.20 Administration Guide, page 12
• DeepDive Webinar - R81.20 Seamless VPN Connection to Public Cloud, slide 9

https://resources.checkpoint.com/datasheet/certified-security-expert-ccse-r8120-course-overview

Dynamic log distribution is a feature that allows you to configure the Security Gateway to distribute logs between multiple active Log Servers to support a better rate of Logs and Log Servers redundancy. This means that each log is sent to only one Log Server and the load is balanced between the primary Log Servers. If all the primary Log Servers are disconnected, the logs are distributed between the backup Log Servers. If no Log Servers are connected, the gateway writes the logs locally. This feature improves the performance and reliability of logging and reduces the network traffic and disk space consumption. You can enable this feature on the SmartConsole -> Gateways & Servers -> Logs -> Dynamic Log Distribution1.

The other options are incorrect because they do not describe the dynamic log distribution feature. Option B is wrong because the Management High Availability does not store the logs dynamically on the member with the most available disk space, but rather synchronizes the logs between the members using the cpd process2. Option C is wrong because the dynamic log distribution feature does not synchronize the logs between the primary and secondary management server, but rather distributes the logs between the Log Servers. Option D is wrong because the dynamic log distribution feature does not save disk space in case of a firewall cluster, but rather distributes the logs between the Log Servers. The firewall cluster members do not store local logs, but rather send them to the Log Servers3.

 By default, the R81 web API uses JSON as the content-type in its response. JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation and is a lightweight data-interchange format that is easy to read and write. XML, Java Script, and Text are not the default content-types for the R81 web API. References: : Check Point Software, Getting Started, Web API; : JSON.org, Introducing JSON.

Which firewall daemon is responsible for the FW CLI commands? The firewall daemon that is responsible for the FW CLI commands is fwd. This daemon handles the communication between the firewall kernel and the user space processes, such as SmartConsole, SmartView Tracker, etc. The FW CLI commands are used to control and monitor various aspects of the firewall, such as connections, policy installation, logs, NAT, etc. The FW CLI commands are executed with the prefix fw, such as fw stat, fw tab, fw monitor, etc. References: R81 Command Line Interface Reference Guide, page 13.

 Check Point API is an interface that allows users to automate tasks and manage Check Point products using RESTful web service calls. Check Point API uses JSON format for requests and responses. To create a new host object with the name “My Host” and IP address of “192.168.0.10”, users need to use the set host command with the name and ip-address parameters6. The command syntax is:

set host name “My Host” ip-address “192.168.0.10”

Therefore, the correct answer is A.

References: 6: Check Point API reference

 SmartEvent uses its event policy to identify events. The event policy can be customized by matching logs against event rules. Event rules define the conditions and actions for generating events. You can create, edit, delete, enable, or disable event rules in the SmartEvent Policy tab of the SmartConsole. References: [SmartEvent Administration Guide]

 SecureXL does not use the TCP acknowledgment number as an attribute for identifying connections. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates the performance of the firewall by offloading some of the traffic processing from the firewall kernel to a more efficient path. SecureXL identifies connections by five attributes: source address, destination address, source port, destination port, and protocol1. These attributes are also known as the 5-tuple or the connection key. SecureXL uses these attributes to match packets to existing connections and apply the appropriate security policy and actions. SecureXL does not need to inspect the TCP sequence or acknowledgment numbers, as they are irrelevant for the connection identification and security enforcement2. The TCP sequence and acknowledgment numbers are used by the TCP protocol to ensure reliable and ordered delivery of data between endpoints

 Aaron should check API Server status with “api status” from Expert mode. If services are stopped, he should start them with “api start”. This is the correct way to verify and start the API Server on a Security Management Server running Gaia R81.X. The other commands are either invalid or not related to the API Server. The api command is a wrapper script that simplifies the management of the API Server. It can be used to start, stop, restart, status, enable, or disable the API Server. References: [API Server]

The valid SecureXL paths in R81.20 are F2F (Slow path), Accelerated Path, Medium Path and F2V1. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates the performance of the Security Gateway by offloading CPU-intensive operations to the SecureXL device2. SecureXL uses different paths to process packets, depending on the type and state of the connection3. The SecureXL paths are3:

• F2F (Slow path): This path handles packets that require a full inspection by the Firewall kernel. It is the slowest path, but it supports all features and blades. Examples of packets that use this path are packets that belong to a new connection, packets that match a rule with UTM blades, or packets that require address translation.
• Accelerated Path: This path handles packets that belong to an established connection that does not require any further inspection by the Firewall kernel. It is the fastest path, but it supports only a limited set of features and blades. Examples of packets that use this path are packets that match an accept rule with no UTM blades, or packets that match a rule with SecureXL acceleration enabled.
• Medium Path: This path handles packets that belong to an established connection that requires some inspection by the Firewall kernel, but not a full inspection. It is faster than the F2F path, but slower than the Accelerated path. It supports more features and blades than the Accelerated path, but less than the F2F path. Examples of packets that use this path are packets that match a rule with IPS or Anti-Bot blades, or packets that require NAT templates.
• F2V: This path handles packets that are encapsulated or decapsulated by the VPN kernel. It is faster than the F2F path, but slower than the Accelerated path. It supports VPN features such as encryption, decryption, encapsulation, and decapsulation. References: R81.x Security Gateway Architecture (Logical Packet Flow) - Check Point CheckMates, SecureXL Mechanism in R80.10 and above - Check Point Software, SecureXL - Check Point Software

 The most probable reason for the expert password to be no longer valid after a week is that save config was not issued on clish. The clish command set expert-password sets the expert password for the current session only. To make the password persistent, the clish command save config must be issued after setting the expert password2. The other options are not relevant for setting the expert password. References: 2: Check Point Software, Getting Started, Setting Expert Password.

The component that is not required to communicate with the Web Services API is the API key. The Web Services API uses a session ID token for authentication, which is obtained by sending a login request with a valid username and password. The other components are required for sending requests and receiving responses from the Web Services API. The content-type specifies the format of the data being sent or received, such as JSON or XML. The request payload contains the data and parameters for the API call, such as command name, object name, etc. References: [Web Services API Reference Guide]

 The correct command for checking the Deployment Agent status over the GAIA CLISH is “show installer status”. This command displays information about the Deployment Agent such as its version, status, last update time, and last operation result. The other commands are either invalid or irrelevant for this purpose. References: [Check Point Security Expert R81 Installation and Upgrade Guide], page 23.

The Check Point ThreatCloud is a worldwide collaborative security network that collects and analyzes threat data from millions of sensors, security gateways, and other sources, and delivers real-time threat intelligence and protection to Check Point products. References: Check Point ThreatCloud

 The API command add host name ip-address  can be used in a script to create 100 new host objects with different IP addresses. This command adds a new host object with the specified name and IP address to the database. The other commands are either not valid or not suitable for creating new host objects. References: Check Point - Management API reference

The SmartEvent component that creates events is the Correlation Unit, which is responsible for correlating and analyzing security events to identify patterns and potential threats.

Option A, "Consolidation Policy," does not create events but is used to configure policies for event consolidation.

Option C, "SmartEvent Policy," is not responsible for creating events but is used to configure policies related to SmartEvent.

Option D, "SmartEvent GUI," is the graphical user interface for managing SmartEvent but does not create events itself.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 The inspection point Big l is the first point immediately following the tables and rule base check of a packet coming from outside of the network. It is also the last point before the packet leaves the Security Gateway to the internal network1. The other inspection points are either before or after the rule base check, or in a different direction of traffic flow2. References: Check Point R81 Security Gateway Architecture and Packet Flow, 156-315.81 Checkpoint Exam Info and Free Practice Test - ExamTopics

To help SmartEvent determine whether events originated internally or externally, you must define the traffic direction using the Initial Settings under General Settings in the Policy Tab. There are four options available to calculate the traffic direction: Incoming, Outgoing, Internal, and Other. Incoming means the source is external and the destination is internal. Outgoing means the source is internal and the destination is external. Internal means both the source and the destination are internal. Other means both the source and the destination are external. References: SmartEvent R81 Administration Guide

Anti-Bot is a post-infection malware protection that detects and blocks botnet communications from infected hosts to Command & Control servers. It is different from other Threat Prevention mechanisms that prevent malware from entering the network or executing on the hosts. References: Anti-Bot Software Blade

Suspicious Activity Rules Solution

Suspicious Activity Rules is a utility integrated into SmartView Monitor that is used to modify access privileges upon detection of any suspicious network activity (for example, several attempts to gain unauthorized access).

The detection of suspicious activity is based on the creation of Suspicious Activity rules. Suspicious Activity rules are Firewall rules that enable the system administrator to instantly block suspicious connections that are not restricted by the currently enforced security policy. These rules, once set (usually with an expiration date), can be applied immediately without the need to perform an Install Policy operation.

References:

The features that are only supported with R81.20 Gateways and not with R77.x are described in option C:

"C. The rule base can be built of layers, each containing a set of the security rules. Layers are inspected in the order in which they are defined, allowing control over the rule base flow and which security functionalities take precedence."

This feature, known as Rule Base Layers, allows for greater flexibility and control in organizing and prioritizing security rules within the rule base.

Options A, B, and D do not specifically pertain to features introduced in R81.20 and are available in earlier versions as well.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

An event is a notification that something significant has occurred on a Check Point product or network. Events are generated by various sources, such as blades, gateways, servers, SmartEvent, etc. You can view and manage events in SmartConsole by using the Events tab in the Logs & Monitor view. Selecting an event displays its configurable properties in the Detail pane and a description of the event in the Description pane. The configurable properties include:

• Severity: The level of importance or urgency of the event. You can change the severity of an event by selecting a different value from the drop-down list.
• Automatic reactions: The actions that are triggered when an event occurs. You can add, edit, or delete automatic reactions for an event by clicking on the + icon or the pencil icon.
• Threshold: The minimum number or frequency of occurrences of an event that triggers an automatic reaction. You can change the threshold of an event by entering a different value in the text box.

The policy is not an option to adjust or configure for an event. The policy is a set of rules that define how to handle events based on their source, type, severity, etc. You can create and manage policies in SmartEvent by using the Policies tab in the Logs & Monitor view. References: R81 Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide

 You can select the file types that are sent for emulation for all the Threat Prevention profiles. Each profile defines an Inspect or Bypass action for the file types. The Inspect action means that the file will be sent to the Threat Emulation engine for analysis, and the Bypass action means that the file will not be sent and will be allowed or blocked based on other Threat Prevention blades1. The other options are not valid actions for file types in Threat Prevention profiles. References: Check Point R81 Threat Prevention Administration Guide

The three components for Check Point Capsule are Capsule Workspace, Capsule Docs, and Capsule Cloud. Capsule Workspace is a secure container app that allows users to access corporate data and applications from their mobile devices. Capsule Docs is a solution that protects documents with encryption and granular access control. Capsule Cloud is a cloud-based security service that enforces security policies on devices that are outside the corporate network. References: Check Point Capsule

 Dynamic Dispatcher is a feature that optimizes the performance of Security Gateways with multiple CPU cores by dynamically allocating traffic to different cores based on their load and priority. Firewall Priority Queues is a feature that prioritizes traffic based on its type and importance by assigning it to different queues with different weights and limits. To fully enable Dynamic Dispatcher with Firewall Priority Queues on a Security Gateway, you need to run the following command in Expert mode then reboot:

This command sets the multi-core mode to 9, which means that Dynamic Dispatcher is enabled with Firewall Priority Queues. The other commands are not valid or do not enable both features. References: R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

 Check Point Mobile Web Portal is a Mobile Access Application that allows a secure container on mobile devices to give users access to internal websites, file shares and emails. The Mobile Web Portal is a web-based application that can be accessed from any browser on any device. It provides a user-friendly interface to access various resources on the corporate network without requiring a VPN client or additional software installation. The Mobile Web Portal supports authentication methods such as user name and password, certificate, one-time password (OTP), etc. The Mobile Web Portal also supports security features such as encryption, data leakage prevention (DLP), threat prevention, etc. References: R81 Mobile Access Administration Guide

PDP is not a valid CPVIEW view. CPVIEW is a command-line tool that shows the status of different system parameters, such as CPU, memory, disk, network, and firewall. The valid views are IDA, RAD, VPN, FW, QoS, and others. PDP is a process that handles identity awareness and authentication. References: Check Point R81 Gaia Administration Guide, Check Point Identity Awareness Administration Guide R81

Threat Simulator is not a component of Check Point SandBlast. Check Point SandBlast is a solution that provides advanced protection against zero-day threats using four components: Threat Emulation, Threat Extraction, Threat Cloud, and Threat Prevention. References: Check Point SandBlast Network

CPInfo is an auto-updatable utility that collects diagnostics data on a customer's machine at the time of execution and uploads it to Check Point servers (it replaces the standalone cp_uploader utility for uploading files to Check Point servers).

The CPInfo output file allows analyzing customer setups from a remote location. Check Point support engineers can open the CPInfo file in a demo mode, while viewing actual customer Security Policies and Objects. This allows the in-depth analysis of customer's configuration and environment settings.

References:

The fwd process on the Security Gateway sends logs to the fwd process on the Management Server via the cpm process. The cpm process is the main management process that handles database operations, policy installation, and communication with GUI clients via TCP port 190093. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant to the log flow. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview, Check Point Ports Used for Communication by Various Check Point Modules

The command migrate import can be used to restore a backup of Check Point configurations without the OS information. This command imports the configuration from a file that was created using the migrate export command, which backs up only the Check Point configuration and not the OS settings. The other commands are either not valid or not suitable for restoring a backup without the OS information. References: Check Point R81 Installation and Upgrade Guide

 A management plug-in is a software component that interacts with a Security Management Server to provide new features and support for new products. A management plug-in can extend the functionality of SmartConsole, SmartDashboard, SmartView Monitor, SmartView Tracker, SmartEvent, SmartReporter, SmartProvisioning, SmartUpdate, and other management tools. A management plug-in can also add new objects, policies, rules, actions, reports, views, and wizards to the management system. Some examples of management plug-ins are CloudGuard Controller, SandBlast Agent, Endpoint Security Server, Threat Extraction for Web, etc. 

Check Point currently supports four types of APIs: R81 Management API, Identity Awareness Web Services API, OPSEC SDK, and Gaia REST API. The Open REST API is not a valid option. References: Check Point APIs

The Check Point TE appliance in Recommended Mode includes 2(OS) images. One image is used for running the appliance, and the other image is used for backup and recovery purposes. The images are not chosen by the administrator during installation, nor based on the license or the latest version. References: [Check Point R81 Threat Emulation Administration Guide]

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 The command fw ctl pstat can be used to verify the number of active concurrent connections on a gateway. This command displays various statistics about the firewall kernel, such as memory usage, CPU utilization, packet rates, and connection table information. The output of this command includes a line that shows the current number of connections and the peak number of connections since the last reboot. For example:

This means that there are currently 1234 active connections out of a maximum of 8192 connections, which is 15% of the connection table capacity. The peak number of connections since the last reboot was 2345. 

 R81.20 management server can manage gateways with versions R75.20 and higher. However, some features may not be supported on older gateway versions. For example, R81 introduces a new feature called Infinity Threat Prevention, which requires R81 gateways to work properly. Therefore, it is recommended to upgrade your gateways to the latest version to take advantage of all the new features and enhancements in R81. 

The Audit Log is a feature that records all the actions performed by R81 SmartConsole administrators, such as logging in, logging out, publishing, installing policy, creating objects, modifying rules, etc. You can see and search records of action done by R81 SmartConsole administrators by following these steps:

• In SmartConsole, go to Logs & Monitor view.
• In the left pane, select Open Audit Log View.
• In the right pane, you will see a table that shows all the audit log records. You can filter, sort, group, or search the records by using the toolbar options.
• You can also double-click on a record to see more details in a pop-up window. References: R81 Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide

SecureXL Templating is a feature that accelerates the processing of packets that belong to the same connection or session by creating a template for the first packet and applying it to the subsequent packets. SecureXL Templating is precluded by factors that prevent the creation of a template, such as source port ranges, encrypted connections, NAT, QoS, etc. References: SecureXL Mechanism

On a Security Gateway with CoreXL enabled, the Firewall kernel is replicated multiple times. Each replicated copy, or instance, runs on one processing core. These instances handle traffic concurrently, and each instance is a complete and independent inspection kernel. When CoreXL is enabled, all the kernel instances in the Security Gateway process traffic through the same interfaces and apply the same security policy.

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The correct command to observe the Sync traffic in a VRRP environment is fw monitor –e “accept dst=224.0.0.18;”. This command captures the packets that have the destination IP address of 224.0.0.18, which is the multicast address used by VRRP for synchronization. The other commands are either not valid or not specific to VRRP Sync traffic. References: [Check Point R81 ClusterXL Administration Guide], Check Point R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

Full synchronization between cluster members is handled by Firewall Kernel using TCP port 256 by default. Full synchronization occurs when a cluster member joins or rejoins the cluster and needs to receive the entire state table from another member. References: [ClusterXL Administration Guide]

On R81.20, when configuring Third-Party devices to read the logs using the LEA (Log Export API), the default Log Server uses port 18184. This port can be changed using the lea_server command in expert mode. The other ports are either not related to LEA, or used for different purposes, such as 18210 for CPMI, 257 for FW1_log, and 18191 for SIC. References: [Check Point R81 Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide], [Check Point Ports Used for Communication by Various Check Point Modules]

The Management API supports three methods of communication: mgmt_cli command, SmartConsole GUI dialog box, and Gaia CLI. Sending API commands over an http connection using web-services is not a supported method. References: Check Point Management APIs

Wire Mode is a VPN-1 NGX feature that enables VPN connections to successfully fail over, bypassing Security Gateway enforcement. This improves performance and reduces downtime. Based on a trusted source and destination, Wire Mode uses internal interfaces and VPN Communities to maintain a private and secure VPN session, without employing Stateful Inspection. Since Stateful Inspection no longer takes place, dynamic-routing protocols that do not survive state verification in non-Wire Mode configurations can now be deployed. The VPN connection is no different from any other connections along a dedicated wire, thus the meaning of "Wire Mode".

References: VPN Administration Guide

It is recommended to enable Detect-Only for Troubleshooting on the profile during the initial installation of IPS. This option overrides any protections that are set to Prevent so that they will not block any traffic.

During this time you can analyze the alerts that IPS generates to see how IPS will handle network traffic, while avoiding any impact on the flow of traffic.

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The statement that is correct about the Sticky Decision Function is It is not supported with either the Performance pack of a hardware based accelerator card. The Sticky Decision Function (SDF) is a feature that ensures that packets from the same connection are handled by the same cluster member in a Load Sharing configuration. However, SDF is not compatible with SecureXL acceleration, which is enabled by default or by using a Performance pack or a hardware based accelerator card4. The other statements are either incorrect or outdated about SDF. References: Check Point R81 ClusterXL Administration Guide, Sticky Decision Function - Check Point CheckMates

The statement that is true regarding redundancy is Both ClusterXL and VRRP are fully supported by Gaia and available to all Check Point appliances, open servers, and virtualized environments. ClusterXL and VRRP are two technologies that provide high availability and load sharing for Security Gateways. They are both supported by Gaia OS and can be deployed on various platforms5. The other statements are either false or incomplete regarding redundancy. References: Check Point R81 ClusterXL Administration Guide, Check Point R81 Gaia Administration Guide

Session unique identifiers are passed to the web API using the X-chkp-sid HTTP header option. The web API is a service that runs on the Security Management Server and enables external applications to communicate with the Check Point management database using REST APIs. To use the web API, you need to create a session with the management server by sending a login request with your credentials. The management server will respond with a session unique identifier (SID) that represents your session. You need to pass this SID in every subsequent request to the web API using the X-chkp-sid HTTP header option. This way, the management server can identify and authenticate your session and perform the requested operations. References: Check Point R81 REST API Reference Guide

To optimize drops you decide to use Priority Queues and fully enable Dynamic Dispatcher. You can enable them by using the command fw ctl multik set_mode 9. This command sets the SecureXL mode to 9, which means that Priority Queues are enabled and Dynamic Dispatcher is fully enabled. References: SecureXL Mechanism

 In R81, IPS is managed by the Threat Prevention Policy. The Threat Prevention Policy is a unified policy that allows you to configure and enforce IPS, Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, Threat Emulation, and Threat Extraction settings in one place. References: Threat Prevention Administration Guide

To simplify security administration when working with multiple Security Gateways enforcing an extensive number of rules, you would choose to create a separate Security Policy package for each remote Security Gateway. A Security Policy package is a set of rules and objects that can be assigned to one or more Security Gateways. This allows you to manage different policies for different gateways from the same Management Server1. The other options are either not effective or not feasible for simplifying security administration. References: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide

 SSL Network Extender (SNX) has two modes of operation: Network Mode and Application Mode. Network Mode provides full network connectivity to the remote user, while Application Mode provides access to specific applications on the corporate network. References: [SSL Network Extender]

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To fully enable Dynamic Dispatcher on a Security Gateway, you need to run the following command in Expert mode then reboot:

This command sets the multi-core mode to 9, which means that Dynamic Dispatcher is enabled without Firewall Priority Queues. Dynamic Dispatcher is a feature that optimizes the performance of Security Gateways with multiple CPU cores by dynamically allocating traffic to different cores based on their load and priority. Dynamic Dispatcher can improve the throughput and scalability of the Security Gateway, especially for traffic that is not accelerated by SecureXL. The other commands are not valid or do not enable Dynamic Dispatcher. References: R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

In R81, spoofing is defined as a method of making packets appear as if they come from an authorized IP address. Spoofing can be used by attackers to bypass security policies or hide their identity. Check Point firewalls use anti-spoofing mechanisms to prevent spoofed packets from entering or leaving the network. References: Security Gateway R81 Administration Guide:

In R81, you can manage your Mobile Access Policy through the Unified Policy. The Unified Policy is a single policy that combines access control, threat prevention, data protection, and identity awareness. You can create rules for mobile access in the Unified Policy rulebase and apply them to mobile devices, users, and applications. You can also use the Mobile Access blade to configure additional settings for mobile access, such as authentication methods, VPN settings, and application portal.