Changed PSE-Strata Exam Questions

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.

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

The Query Builder found in the Custom Report creation dialog of the firewall specifically includes the following components:

Connector (A): This is used to connect different parts of the query, allowing the user to specify how data elements are linked.

Operator (D): Operators are used to define the conditions for the query, such as equals, not equals, greater than, etc.

Attribute (E): Attributes represent the fields or data points that can be queried.

These components are essential for building effective and precise queries within the custom report creation functionality of the firewall, ensuring that users can extract relevant data based on specific conditions.

The Vulnerability Protection Profile on a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) includes signatures specifically designed to protect against a variety of threats, including brute force attacks. This profile utilizes a database of known vulnerabilities and exploits to detect and block malicious attempts to compromise network security. By applying this profile, administrators can prevent attackers from successfully using brute force methods to gain unauthorized access to systems.