PSE-Strata Palo Alto Networks System Engineer Professional - Strata Questions and Answers

To configure the rate of file submissions to WildFire in a Palo Alto Networks NGFW, you set a limit on the maximum number of files submitted per day. This configuration allows administrators to control and manage the volume of files sent to WildFire for analysis, ensuring that it fits within the limits of their license and operational requirements.

To prevent the abuse of stolen credentials, two effective configuration elements are:

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (C): Implementing MFA adds an additional layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource such as an application or online account. This significantly reduces the risk of credential abuse because even if the credentials are stolen, the attacker would still need the second factor to gain access.

URL Filtering Profiles (D): URL Filtering Profiles help prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites. By restricting access to known phishing and malicious sites, URL filtering can prevent users from inadvertently entering their credentials on fraudulent websites, thereby reducing the chances of credential theft and misuse.

References:

Palo Alto Networks, Multi-Factor Authentication Setup and URL Filtering Profiles documentation.

The Security Lifecycle Review (SLR) is a pre-sales tool used by Palo Alto Networks that involves an in-depth interview, typically lasting around 4 hours, to assess a customer's current security posture. The SLR provides a comprehensive review of the security measures in place, identifies potential gaps, and offers recommendations for improvements. This tool helps organizations understand their security environment and make informed decisions about enhancing their security infrastructure.

References: Palo Alto Networks SLR documentation.

To configure the Decryption Broker, the following two steps are required:

Activate the Decryption Broker license: Ensure that the appropriate license is activated to enable the decryption broker feature.

Enable SSL Forward Proxy decryption: Configure SSL Forward Proxy decryption on the firewall to intercept, decrypt, and inspect SSL/TLS traffic. This setup allows the decrypted traffic to be forwarded to other security devices for further analysis.

These steps are essential to leverage the Decryption Broker functionality, which facilitates deeper inspection and security analysis of encrypted traffic.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Decryption Broker Configuration Guide

Palo Alto Networks SSL Decryption Documentation

To activate or retrieve a Device Management License on the M-100 Appliance after the authorization codes have been activated on the Palo Alto Networks Support Site, you need to navigate to Panorama > Licenses. From there, you can click on "Activate feature using authorization code". This option allows you to input the necessary authorization code to activate the desired license feature directly through the Panorama interface. This process is designed to streamline license management and ensure that all activated features are correctly applied to your device.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Administrator's Guide

Palo Alto Networks Licensing Documentation

Palo Alto Networks uses proprietary technologies to identify and control traffic sources regardless of IP address or network segment. These technologies include:

User-ID (A): This technology maps IP addresses to user identities, allowing policies to be enforced based on user or group identity rather than just IP addresses. This is especially useful in dynamic environments where IP addresses can change frequently.

Device-ID (A): This technology helps to identify and control devices accessing the network. It provides visibility into which devices are on the network and ensures that policies can be applied based on device type and identity.

References:

Palo Alto Networks, User-ID and Device-ID Documentation.

Palo Alto Networks, Technology Whitepapers.

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.

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 support asymmetric routing with redundancy in a legacy environment using Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the following two features must be enabled:

Policy-based forwarding (PBF): This feature allows you to direct traffic to a specific interface or next-hop IP address, bypassing the normal routing table. PBF is crucial for managing asymmetric routing scenarios where inbound and outbound traffic might take different paths.

HA active/active: High Availability (HA) active/active configuration enables two firewalls to simultaneously manage traffic, providing redundancy and failover capabilities. This setup is essential for maintaining network availability and performance in environments with asymmetric routing, as it ensures that both firewalls can actively handle traffic.

References:

Palo Alto Networks High Availability (HA) Guide

Palo Alto Networks Policy-Based Forwarding Documentation

Using Panorama for managing virtual firewalls in a data center deployment provides several advantages:

Automated Correlation Engine Functionality: Panorama offers an Automated Correlation Engine that can aggregate and analyze logs from multiple firewalls, including virtual ones, to identify patterns and threats that individual firewalls might not detect. This centralized analysis capability is crucial for comprehensive threat detection and response​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Bootstrapping Virtual Firewalls: Panorama can automate the deployment of virtual firewalls by using bootstrapping configurations. This allows for dynamic and rapid deployment of firewalls in cloud environments, ensuring that security policies are consistently applied from the moment the virtual firewalls are launched​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

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)​.

When configuring the NGFW to act as a decryption broker for multiple transparent bridge security chains, the following items are required:

A unique Transparent Bridge Decryption Forwarding Profile to a single Decryption policy rule (B): Each decryption policy rule must be associated with a unique Transparent Bridge Decryption Forwarding Profile. This ensures that decrypted traffic is forwarded appropriately to the specific security chain.

A unique Decryption policy rule is required per security chain (C): You need to create a separate decryption policy rule for each security chain. This allows you to distribute the decrypted traffic among multiple security chains based on policy criteria.

These configurations enable the firewall to effectively manage and distribute the load across multiple security chains, ensuring optimal performance and security​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)

Decryption port mirroring is supported on all hardware-based and VM-Series firewalls, with specific exceptions.

Decryption port mirroring: This feature allows the firewall to forward decrypted traffic to a traffic analysis tool, providing visibility into encrypted traffic. It is supported on all hardware-based and VM-Series firewalls, except for deployments on VMware NSX, Citrix SDX, or public cloud hypervisors.

Cortex XDR licensing is based on the number of nodes and endpoints providing logs. This model ensures that organizations are charged according to the volume of endpoints and devices that are integrated with the Cortex XDR platform for comprehensive detection and response capabilities. By basing the licensing on endpoints and nodes, Cortex XDR offers a scalable and flexible solution that can adapt to the specific needs and growth of an organization's network infrastructure.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Licensing Guide

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Datasheet

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)​.

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

Palo Alto Networks' Threat Intelligence Cloud sources malware sample data from various significant inputs:

Next-generation firewalls deployed with WildFire Analysis Security Profiles: These firewalls are equipped with WildFire Analysis Security Profiles, which analyze unknown files and email links to detect zero-day threats and malware. This provides a rich source of real-time threat data.

WF-500 configured as private clouds for privacy concerns: The WF-500 appliance is used by organizations that prefer to maintain privacy and have stringent data control requirements. It serves as a private cloud for malware analysis, adding another layer of data collection.

Third-party data feeds: Partnerships with organizations like ProofPoint and the Cyber Threat Alliance enable Palo Alto Networks to integrate additional threat intelligence feeds. These third-party collaborations expand the breadth and depth of threat data available for analysis and defense​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

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.

Before implementing a decryption policy on Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), it is essential to consider the potential inability to access some websites due to issues like certificate pinning or incompatibility. Excluding certain types of traffic (e.g., financial or healthcare) from decryption can avoid legal and privacy issues. Ensuring that the firewall's throughput can handle the additional load from decrypting traffic is critical to maintain network performance and avoid bottlenecks.

References:

Palo Alto Networks' SSL Decryption Best Practices

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) considerations for traffic inspection

Network performance guidelines from various cybersecurity standards bodies

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.

The Best Practice Assessment (BPA) tool provided by Palo Alto Networks helps organizations to assess and improve their security posture. The tool identifies several best practices, including:

Use of Decryption Policies: Implementing decryption policies ensures that encrypted traffic can be inspected for threats. This is crucial for identifying and mitigating risks hidden within SSL/TLS encrypted traffic​ (Marks4Sure)​.

Measure the Adoption of URL Filters, App-ID, User-ID: The BPA tool evaluates how effectively the organization is utilizing URL filtering, application identification (App-ID), and user identification (User-ID) to enforce security policies. These technologies are essential for granular control and visibility over network traffic​ (Marks4Sure)​.

Identify Sanctioned and Unsanctioned SaaS Applications: The tool helps in identifying which SaaS applications are being used within the network, distinguishing between those that are sanctioned by IT and those that are not. This visibility is crucial for managing shadow IT and ensuring that only approved applications are used, reducing security risks​ (Marks4Sure)​.

For the User-ID Agent to perform WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) Authentication on a Windows Server, the following domain permissions are required:

Domain Administrators: This group has the highest level of privileges in the domain and can perform any action within the Active Directory domain.

Distributed COM Users: This group allows members to launch, activate, and use Distributed COM objects on the server.

Event Log Readers: This group provides read access to the event logs, which is crucial for the User-ID Agent to collect security events necessary for user identification​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Deploying Panorama in a High Availability (HA) configuration provides significant advantages, especially for maintaining the management layer and ensuring robust log collection. Here are the key reasons:

Ensure Management Continuity: By deploying a second Panorama appliance in an HA setup, you can ensure continuous management of your firewall environment. In the event that the primary Panorama appliance fails, the secondary appliance can take over, ensuring that there is no interruption in management capabilities. This is crucial for maintaining operational stability and uninterrupted administrative functions​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Improve Log Collection Redundancy: An HA setup improves the redundancy and reliability of log collection. If the primary Panorama appliance that is collecting logs from various firewalls becomes unavailable, the secondary appliance can continue the log collection process. This ensures that all security events and network activities are recorded without gaps, which is essential for effective monitoring and incident response​ (Palo Alto Networks)​​ (Palo Alto Networks Knowledge Base)​.

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.

Having WildFire machine learning (ML) capability inline on the firewall provides significant advantages in real-time threat prevention.

Inline ML Capability:

The firewall can analyze and block unknown malicious files in real-time, preventing the first instance of infection (patient zero).

This enhances security without disrupting business productivity, as threats are mitigated immediately.

Before deploying a firewall evaluation unit in a customer environment, it is essential to take certain preparatory actions to ensure a smooth evaluation process and accurate results.

Upgrade the evaluation unit to the most current recommended firmware, unless a demo of the upgrade process is planned (Option C):

Ensures that the evaluation unit is running the latest and most secure firmware, providing the best performance and security features available.

When a client chooses not to block uncategorized websites, additional measures are necessary to maintain a level of protection.

A URL filtering profile with the action set to continue for unknown URL categories: By setting the action to continue, users will be prompted before accessing uncategorized websites, which provides an extra layer of caution and awareness, helping to mitigate risks associated with unknown sites.

A file blocking profile attached to security policy rules: This helps to reduce the risk of drive-by downloads by blocking potentially harmful file types from being downloaded when users visit uncategorized websites. This additional layer of security ensures that even if users access risky sites, the likelihood of malicious file downloads is minimized.

When HTTP header logging is enabled on a URL Filtering profile in Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the attribute-value that can be logged includes:

X-Forwarded-For (A): This HTTP header is commonly used to identify the originating IP address of a client connecting to a web server through an HTTP proxy or load balancer. Logging this header allows administrators to track the source IP addresses of clients accessing resources through proxies, providing better visibility into user activity.

References:

Palo Alto Networks, URL Filtering Profiles Documentation.

HTTP Header Field Definitions (RFC 7239).

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) significantly enhances security by requiring multiple forms of verification to access accounts, reducing the risk of abuse from stolen credentials. URL Filtering Profiles block access to malicious or high-risk websites that might be used to harvest credentials or facilitate phishing attacks. SSL decryption rules allow security systems to inspect encrypted traffic, ensuring that malicious content is not being hidden within encrypted sessions, thereby preventing the use of stolen credentials on secure sites. These measures collectively help in reducing the risk of credential theft and misuse.

References:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines on authentication

Palo Alto Networks' Best Practices for URL Filtering

SSL Decryption in Network Security (SANS Institute)

The SP3 (Single Pass Parallel Processing) architecture of Palo Alto Networks' Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) is designed to address high-throughput and low-latency requirements while providing comprehensive security features. This architecture allows the firewall to process network traffic in a single pass for all security functions, which significantly enhances performance by reducing latency and ensuring high throughput. By highlighting SP3, you can assure potential customers that the NGFW can handle their performance needs while delivering robust security.

Choosing between the hardware and virtual offerings of Panorama depends on specific use cases and requirements.

Dedicated Logger Mode is Required: Hardware Panorama can be configured in Dedicated Logger Mode, which is not available in the virtual offering. This mode is crucial for environments needing dedicated, high-capacity log collection and storage.

Logs per Second Exceed 10,000: Hardware Panorama is designed to handle high log rates more efficiently than the virtual offering. When the log rate exceeds 10,000 logs per second, the hardware version can manage the load more effectively, ensuring better performance and reliability.

The metric health baseline for devices is typically calculated by taking the average performance of a specific metric over a period (such as seven days) and then adding the standard deviation to account for variability. This helps in identifying deviations from normal performance, which can indicate potential issues or anomalies in device behavior.

References:

Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics (NPMD) methodologies

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standards for performance baselines

The firewall provides several types of reports to monitor network security. These include:

PDF Summary Reports: These reports provide a comprehensive summary of the network's security status and events, formatted in a user-friendly PDF format.

Botnet Reports: Focus on identifying and detailing botnet activities within the network, helping administrators take action against compromised devices.

User or Group Activity Reports: These reports track the activities of specific users or groups, providing insights into user behavior and potential security risks.

These reports help in understanding and managing the security posture of the network effectively.

References: Palo Alto Networks Reporting and Logging documentation.

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)​.

For a Fortune 500 customer concerned about sending discovered malware outside of their network, the WildFire Private Cloud is the appropriate solution. The WildFire Private Cloud allows the organization to retain all malware analysis within their own data center, ensuring that sensitive information and discovered threats are not transmitted to external servers. This version of WildFire is designed for organizations with stringent data privacy and security policies, offering the same advanced threat detection and prevention capabilities as the public cloud version, but hosted entirely within the customer's infrastructure.

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.