Paloalto Networks PSE-Strata Palo Alto Networks System Engineer Professional - Strata Exam Practice Test

In a Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), supporting asymmetric routing with redundancy requires specific features to handle traffic that may not follow the same path in both directions.

Active / active high availability (HA): This feature allows two firewalls to operate in tandem, sharing the traffic load. Active/active HA mode is designed to handle asymmetric routing scenarios where traffic might ingress through one firewall and egress through another, ensuring continuity and redundancy.

non-SYN first packet: This feature is crucial for dealing with non-standard traffic patterns where the initial packet may not always be a SYN packet (typical in TCP connections). It allows the firewall to handle and correctly process such packets, which is essential in asymmetric routing scenarios.

WildFire, a cloud-based malware analysis service provided by Palo Alto Networks, supports the analysis of various file types to detect malicious content. Specifically, it supports:

B. 7-Zip: WildFire can analyze compressed files in the 7-Zip format, which is commonly used to distribute malware in compressed archives.

C. Flash: Analysis of Flash files helps in detecting malware that can be embedded in Flash content, which has historically been a common vector for exploits.

D. RPM: WildFire supports the analysis of RPM packages, which are used in various Linux distributions and can be used to distribute malicious software.

In the Five-Step Methodology of Zero Trust, application access and user access are defined in Step 3: Architect a Zero Trust Network. This step involves designing the network architecture to enforce Zero Trust principles, which include defining and segmenting the network, specifying access controls, and ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users and devices can access the necessary applications and data. This step is critical for establishing a secure and resilient network that adheres to the Zero Trust model.

Information about Command-and-Control (C2) hosts can be found in the following items:

Threat logs (A): These logs contain detailed information about detected threats, including C2 activities.

WildFire analysis reports (B): WildFire reports provide insights into malicious files and their behaviors, including any C2 communication attempts.

Botnet reports (C): These reports identify infected hosts within the network that are communicating with known botnet C2 servers.

These sources collectively provide comprehensive visibility into C2 activities within the network, aiding in the detection and mitigation of compromised hosts​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

To configure SSL Forward Proxy, two types of certificates can be used:

Enterprise CA-signed certificates: These certificates are issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) within the organization, ensuring trust within the enterprise environment.

Self-Signed certificates: These are generated and signed by the firewall itself. While easier to deploy, they may not be trusted by external clients unless explicitly added to their trust stores.

Both types of certificates allow the firewall to decrypt and inspect SSL/TLS traffic, ensuring that malicious traffic can be detected and blocked even when encrypted.

References: Palo Alto Networks SSL Decryption documentation.

The smallest Panorama solution that can be used to manage up to 2500 Palo Alto Networks Next Generation firewalls is the M-200 appliance.

The M-200 is designed for medium-sized organizations and provides the necessary performance and scalability to manage a large number of firewalls efficiently.

The M-600 is a more powerful appliance but is not the smallest option.

The M-100 has been superseded by the M-200 and does not support as many devices.

The Panorama VM-Series can manage a large number of devices but is not typically considered the "smallest" solution due to its virtual nature and varying performance based on the underlying hardware.

The Palo Alto Networks Cloud Identity Engine (CIE) includes services such as Directory Sync and Cloud Authentication Service. These services support identity providers (IdP) using standards like SAML 2.0 and OAuth2. Directory Sync ensures that user and group information from on-premises directories are available in the cloud, while Cloud Authentication Service facilitates secure authentication and single sign-on (SSO) for users.

WildFire can analyze various script types to detect and mitigate potential threats.

JScript (Option C):

JScript files can be used in web-based attacks and are commonly analyzed by WildFire.

In Panorama, the centralized management tool for Palo Alto Networks firewalls, WildFire analysis reports, threat logs, and botnet reports are essential for identifying the inclusion of a host source in a command-and-control (C2) incident. WildFire analysis reports provide detailed insights into malware behavior and characteristics. Threat logs record events related to security threats, such as attempted intrusions or malware detections. Botnet reports specifically track botnet activity, identifying compromised hosts that communicate with known botnet servers. By reviewing these reports and logs, administrators can accurately identify and mitigate C2 incidents.

The update frequencies for the databases of different subscription services on Palo Alto Networks are as follows:

Anti-virus: Daily updates ensure that the latest virus definitions and malware signatures are available to protect against new threats.

Application: Weekly updates provide the latest application signatures to maintain accurate application identification and control.

Threats: Daily updates deliver the most current threat signatures to enhance the firewall's ability to detect and prevent emerging threats.

WildFire: Updates every 5 minutes ensure that the latest malware analysis results and protections are quickly disseminated to protect against new and evolving threats.

These update intervals are designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date protection against a wide range of security threats.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention Documentation

Palo Alto Networks WildFire Subscription Service Guide

For large-scale deployments of Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) with multiple Panorama Management Servers, the Panorama Interconnect plugin is essential. This plugin enables the interconnection and management of multiple Panorama instances, allowing for centralized policy management and configuration across a distributed network environment. It ensures scalability and efficient management in large deployments.

To provide access for 5500 mobile users and 10 remote locations (100Mbps each) for one year with Base Support and minimal logging, the following Bill of Materials (BOM) should be selected:

5500x PAN-GPCS-USER-C-BAS-1YR: This covers the license for 5500 mobile users for one year.

1000x PAN-GPCS-NET-B-BAS-1YR: This covers the network license for 10 remote locations.

1x PAN-LGS-1TB-1YR: This provides minimal logging capability.

1x PAN-PRA-25: This includes the Prisma Access license.

1x PAN-SVC-BAS-PRA-25: This includes the Base Support service for Prisma Access.

These components ensure that the customer has the necessary licenses and support to meet their requirements.

For securing a headquarters environment where users access various web resources, Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF) is recommended.

Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF):

Provides real-time protection against malicious websites and phishing attacks by analyzing URLs and blocking access to dangerous sites.

Ensures users at the headquarters are protected from web-based threats.

The Palo Alto Networks Security Operating Platform is designed to prevent various stages of the cyberattack lifecycle. Specifically, it effectively prevents the following four stages:

Breach the Perimeter: By using advanced threat prevention mechanisms, the platform can stop initial attempts to penetrate the network perimeter.

Lateral Movement: Once inside the network, attackers often try to move laterally to access more systems. The platform uses network segmentation and advanced monitoring to detect and prevent such movements.

Exfiltrate Data: Data exfiltration is the process of unauthorized data transfer out of the network. The platform employs data loss prevention (DLP) technologies to detect and block such attempts.

Deliver the Malware: The platform can prevent malware delivery through its threat prevention capabilities, including anti-malware, anti-spyware, and sandboxing technologies.

These steps cover critical phases where the platform can intervene to stop attacks before they cause significant damage.

When configuring Prisma Cloud to scan your Amazon S3 account, the service requires specific permissions to access your S3 resources. This is achieved by providing the access key ID, which, along with the secret access key, allows Prisma Cloud to authenticate and authorize the necessary access to your S3 buckets. This method ensures secure and efficient management of permissions and access within your AWS environment​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

When a packet associated with an existing session arrives at the firewall, it is processed through the fast path because the session establishment has already occurred, so the session lookup can be quickly determined. If the packet is subject to content inspection, it will then be processed through a single stream-based content inspection engine before it is allowed to egress. This approach ensures efficient packet handling and minimizes latency while maintaining necessary security inspections.

The command show sdwan rule interface allows you to view the names of SD-WAN policy rules that send traffic to the specified virtual SD-WAN interface. This command also provides performance metrics related to the specified interface, helping administrators monitor and troubleshoot SD-WAN policies and their effectiveness​ (Marks4Sure)​.

When deploying User-ID, it's crucial to specify included and excluded networks to ensure that only relevant traffic is monitored, reducing unnecessary load and potential privacy concerns. Enabling User-ID only on trusted zones minimizes the risk of exposing sensitive user information. Using a dedicated service account with minimal permissions necessary for User-ID services enhances security by limiting the potential damage if the account is compromised.

References:

Palo Alto Networks' User-ID Best Practices

NIST Special Publication 800-53 on Access Control

The customer currently lacks visibility into the Layer 7 application traffic on port 53, which is typically used for DNS. Palo Alto Networks' App-ID technology can identify applications traversing the network irrespective of the port, protocol, or encryption (SSL or SSH). By using App-ID, the customer can gain visibility into the specific applications being used, even if they are running over standard ports such as 53. This capability not only identifies the applications but also allows for granular control over them, enabling the customer to block unsanctioned applications if necessary.

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) offer advanced features that are not typically found in legacy firewall products, including:

Policy Match is Based on Application: Unlike legacy firewalls that base policies primarily on IP addresses, ports, and protocols, Palo Alto Networks NGFWs can create policies based on specific applications (App-ID). This allows for more precise control over network traffic, ensuring that only legitimate application traffic is allowed while blocking unwanted or malicious applications.

Identification of Application is Possible on Any Port: Traditional firewalls often rely on static port numbers to identify traffic, which can be easily bypassed by applications using non-standard ports. Palo Alto Networks NGFWs can identify applications regardless of the port they use, providing more accurate application identification and better security enforcement.

These features enhance the ability to manage and secure network traffic effectively, providing superior protection compared to legacy firewall solutions.

The command show mlav cloud-status is used to verify that the machine learning-based antivirus (MLAV) for portable executable (PE) files is functioning correctly within the Palo Alto Networks WildFire environment. This command provides the status of the machine learning model updates and their integration with the antivirus profile. If the model is working properly, this command will return information indicating that the MLAV service is active and synchronized with the cloud-based threat intelligence. This ensures that the firewall is effectively leveraging machine learning to identify and block malicious PE files.

File Blocking Profiles can help prevent drive-by downloads by blocking certain types of file downloads that are commonly associated with malware. This allows web-browsing traffic to continue but prevents potentially harmful files from being downloaded automatically, thus protecting against malicious software that could be installed without user consent.

References:

Palo Alto Networks' documentation on File Blocking Profiles

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) guidelines on preventing drive-by downloads

Dynamic user groups (DUGs) provide flexibility in managing user access and security policies.

Tagging Users via Panorama or Web UI (Option B):

Administrators can manually add or remove users from DUGs using the graphical interface provided by Panorama or the firewall’s Web UI.

With a WildFire subscription, email links contained in SMTP and POP3 messages can be submitted for WildFire analysis if they are either HTTP or HTTPS links. WildFire is a cloud-based threat analysis service that dynamically analyzes these links to detect malicious content. By submitting HTTP and HTTPS links, the system can effectively identify and block threats before they reach the end user, enhancing overall email security.

The CLI command that allows you to view latency, jitter, and packet loss on a virtual SD-WAN interface is:

show sdwan path-monitor stats vif

This command displays the statistics related to the virtual SD-WAN interface, including important metrics such as latency, jitter, and packet loss. These metrics are crucial for monitoring the performance and quality of the SD-WAN connections to ensure optimal network performance and quick identification of issues.

References:

Palo Alto Networks SD-WAN Configuration Guide

Palo Alto Networks CLI Reference

DNS sinkholing is a technique used to intercept and redirect malicious traffic to a designated IP address (sinkhole) to identify and prevent further malicious activity. When a compromised host attempts to connect to a known malicious domain, it is instead directed to the sinkhole IP address. This allows security administrators to identify infected hosts by examining traffic logs, where connections to the sinkhole IP address are recorded. DNS sinkholing does not require a separate license, and the relevant signatures are typically included in the Threat Prevention package.

To avoid split-brain scenarios in an active/passive high availability (HA) pair deployment, it is essential to ensure reliable communication between the HA peers. Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link provides an additional communication path between the firewalls, ensuring they can synchronize state information and avoid scenarios where both units assume the active role due to a communication failure.

The Vulnerability Protection profile on Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall includes signatures to protect against a variety of threats, including brute force attacks.

Vulnerability Protection Profile:

This profile contains specific signatures designed to detect and block attempts to exploit vulnerabilities, including those used in brute force attacks.

The Best Practice Assessment (BPA) tool by Palo Alto Networks identifies tasks related to improving device management access. This includes evaluating the current state of management access configurations and providing recommendations to enhance security, such as implementing multi-factor authentication, using secure management interfaces, and restricting access based on roles.

References: Palo Alto Networks Best Practice Assessment tool documentation.

Prisma SaaS offers several threat prevention capabilities, including:

File Quarantine: This feature isolates suspicious files detected in SaaS applications, preventing them from spreading or causing harm until they can be further analyzed and remediated.

WildFire Analysis: Prisma SaaS leverages WildFire, Palo Alto Networks' advanced malware analysis service, to examine suspicious files and links in SaaS applications, providing thorough threat detection and prevention​ (LIVEcommunity | Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

An administrator needing a PDF summary report that compiles information from existing reports based on data for the top five in each category has the options to send this report on a daily or weekly basis. These timeframe options provide flexibility in monitoring and reviewing critical network and security metrics regularly, ensuring timely insights and actions.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Report Configuration Guide

Palo Alto Networks Reporting and Logging Documentation

To enable Credential Phishing Prevention on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, several actions need to be taken to detect and block phishing attempts effectively.

Enable User Credential Detection: This is crucial for identifying when user credentials are being sent to potentially malicious or unknown sites.

Enable User-ID: This feature maps IP addresses to user identities, which is necessary for identifying which user credentials are being used and applying relevant security policies.

Define a URL Filtering profile: This profile allows the firewall to inspect and control web traffic, blocking access to phishing sites and other malicious URLs.

To trigger a known spyware threat signature based on a rate of occurrence (e.g., 10 hits in 5 seconds), you need to add a correlation object that tracks the occurrences and triggers an alert or action when the specified threshold is met. This correlation object monitors the frequency of the spyware signatures and ensures that action is taken only when the threshold is exceeded, providing more granular control over threat detection and response.

References: Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention and Correlation Objects documentation.

In the first step of the Palo Alto Networks Five-Step Zero Trust Methodology, "Define the protect surface," an organization identifies its critical data, applications, assets, and services (DAAS). This step is crucial because it determines what needs to be protected within the Zero Trust framework. By clearly defining the protect surface, organizations can focus their security efforts on the most critical areas.

To address threats based on domain generation algorithms (DGAs), the Anti-Spyware profile is used to configure Domain Name Security (DNS) on Palo Alto Networks firewalls. DGAs are algorithms used by malware to generate a large number of domain names for command-and-control servers, making it difficult to block them through traditional means. The Anti-Spyware profile includes features to detect and block connections to these dynamically generated domains in real-time, providing robust protection against this sophisticated attack vector.

The CLI command to view SD-WAN events, such as path selection and path quality measurements, is essential for network administrators to monitor and troubleshoot SD-WAN operations.

CLI Command:

>show sdwan event

This command provides visibility into SD-WAN events, including path selection decisions and path quality metrics.

The core values of the Palo Alto Network Security Operating Platform revolve around:

Prevention of cyber attacks: This is achieved through a multi-layered approach combining advanced threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to proactively block known and unknown threats across the network, cloud, and endpoints.

Safe enablement of all applications: The platform is designed to provide comprehensive visibility and control over all applications within an organization. This ensures that applications can be securely accessed and used without compromising on security, facilitating business operations and productivity​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Logs from various products can be sent to the Cortex Data Lake, which serves as a centralized logging and data repository:

PA-3260 firewall: This next-generation firewall (NGFW) is capable of forwarding comprehensive logs, including threat, traffic, and user activity data, to the Cortex Data Lake for centralized analysis and response.

Prisma Access: This cloud-delivered security service ensures secure access to applications and data from anywhere. It integrates with Cortex Data Lake to provide consistent security across all users, irrespective of their location, by logging security events and user activities​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

An Anti-Spyware profile on Palo Alto Networks firewalls can be configured to address command-and-control (C2) traffic from compromised hosts using the following actions:

Reset (C): This action resets the connection, disrupting the communication between the compromised host and the C2 server.

Redirect (D): This action redirects the traffic to a different destination, which can be used to analyze or block the traffic.

Drop (E): This action drops the packets, effectively blocking the communication attempt.

Alert (F): This action generates an alert, notifying administrators of the detected C2 traffic without taking immediate action against the packets.

These actions provide flexible options for responding to and mitigating the risks associated with C2 traffic​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Using a virtual wire (vWire) interface configuration can enhance the security of a production online system while minimizing the impact on the existing network.

Virtual Wire:

A vWire interface operates transparently at Layer 2, allowing the firewall to inspect traffic without making changes to the existing network topology.

This mode is ideal for inline deployments where minimal changes to the network configuration are desired.