PCCET Exam Dumps - Paloalto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Associate Questions and Answers

● Reduce the attack surface: Best-of-breed technologies that are natively integrated provide a prevention architecture that inherently reduces the attack surface. This type of architecture allows organizations to exert positive control based on applications, users, and content, with support for open communication, orchestration, and visibility.

● Prevent all known threats, fast: A coordinated security platform accounts for the full scope of an attack across the various security controls that compose the security posture, thus enabling organizations to quickly identify and block known threats.

● Detect and prevent new, unknown threats with automation: Security that simply detects

threats and requires a manual response is too little, too late. Automated creation and

delivery of near-real-time protections against new threats to the various security solutions in the organization’s environments enable dynamic policy updates. These updates are

designed to allow enterprises to scale defenses with technology, rather than people.

Cortex XDR is an endpoint product from Palo Alto Networks that can help with SOC visibility by allowing you to rapidly detect and respond to threats across your networks, endpoints, and clouds. It assists SOC analysts by allowing them to view all the alerts from all Palo Alto Networks products in one place, and to perform root cause analysis and automated response actions. Cortex XDR also integrates with other Palo Alto Networks products, such as WildFire, AutoFocus, and Cortex Data Lake, to provide comprehensive threat intelligence and data enrichment12. References:

• SOC Services - Palo Alto Networks
• Endpoint Protection - Palo Alto Networks
• Security Operations | Palo Alto Networks
• Cortex - Palo Alto Networks

 A local area network (LAN) is a network that connects end-user devices such as personal computers, printers, scanners, and phones within a small geographic area, such as an office, school, or home. LANs allow users to share resources, such as files, applications, and internet access, among the connected devices. LANs typically use Ethernet or Wi-Fi as the communication medium and operate at high speeds with low error rates. LANs are usually owned and managed by a single person or organization. References: LANs, WANs, and Other Area Networks Explained, What is a LAN? Local Area Network, Types of area networks - LAN, MAN and WAN

SaaS applications are cloud-based software that users can access from anywhere and any device. This poses a challenge for organizations to ensure that their employees are using the SaaS applications in a secure and compliant manner. Therefore, organizations need to establish and enforce acceptable use policies (AUPs) for SaaS applications that define the rules and guidelines for accessing and using the applications, such as who can use them, what data can be stored or shared, and what actions are prohibited12. AUPs help organizations to protect their data, prevent unauthorized access, and comply with local regulations and standards3. References: Using Software as a Service (SaaS) securely - NCSC, Minimum Security Standards for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) | University IT, How to Secure Your SaaS Applications - CyberArk

 A rootkit is a type of malware that enables cyber criminals to gain access to and infiltrate data from machines without being detected. It covers software toolboxes designed to infect computers, give the attacker remote control, and remain hidden for a long period of time1 One of the most prominent characteristics of a rootkit is that it cannot be detected by antivirus because of its masking techniques. A rootkit may be able to subvert the software that is intended to find it, such as by hooking system calls, modifying kernel objects, or tampering with the registry2 Another prominent characteristic of a rootkit is that it takes control of the operating system. A rootkit may install itself in the kernel or the firmware of the device, giving it the highest level of privilege and access. A rootkit may also replace the bootloader or the BIOS of the machine, making it difficult to remove. A rootkit can use its control over the operating system to launch other malware, such as ransomware, bots, keyloggers, or trojans34 References:

• 1: What Is a Rootkit? How to Defend and Stop Them? | Fortinet
• 2: Rootkit - Wikipedia
• 3: What Is a Rootkit? – Microsoft 365
• 4: What is Rootkit? Attack Definition & Examples - CrowdStrike

Signature-based antivirus software is a type of security software that uses signatures to identify malware. Signatures are bits of code that are unique to a specific piece of malware. When signature-based antivirus software detects a piece of malware, it compares the signature to its database of known signatures12. If a match is found, the software can do three things to provide protection:

• Alert system administrators: The software can notify the system administrators or the users about the malware detection, and provide information such as the name, type, location, and severity of the malware. This can help the administrators or the users to take appropriate actions to prevent further damage or infection3.
• Quarantine the infected file: The software can isolate the infected file from the rest of the system, and prevent it from accessing or modifying any other files or processes. This can help to contain the malware and limit its impact on the system4.
• Delete the infected file: The software can remove the infected file from the system, and prevent it from running or spreading. This can help to eliminate the malware and restore the system to a clean state4.

References:

• What is a signature-based antivirus? - Info Exchange
• What is a Signature and How Can I detect it? - Sophos
• How Does Heuristic Analysis Antivirus Software Work?
• What Is Signature-based Malware Detection? | RiskXchange

OSPF is a link-state routing protocol that requires all routers in the same domain to maintain a map of the network. This map is called the link-state database (LSDB) and it contains information about the topology and the state of each link. Each router independently calculates the shortest path to every destination in the network using the Dijkstra algorithm. OSPF routers exchange routing information by flooding link-state advertisements (LSAs) to their neighbors. LSAs are acknowledged by the receivers to ensure reliable delivery12. References:

• What Is OSPF? Understanding Network Protocols By WireX Systems
• Routing Protocols Overview - Global Knowledge

SOAR tools ingest aggregated alerts from detection sources (such as SIEMs, network security tools, and mailboxes) before executing automatable, process-driven playbooks to enrich and respond to these alerts.

Phishing is a type of attack that involves sending fraudulent emails that appear to be from legitimate sources, such as banks, companies, or individuals, in order to trick recipients into clicking on malicious links, opening malicious attachments, or providing sensitive information12. The link to a malware website in the email is an example of a malicious link, which may lead to the installation of malware, ransomware, spyware, or other malicious software on the user’s device, or the redirection to a fake website that mimics a legitimate one, where the user may be asked to enter their credentials, personal information, or financial details34. Phishing emails often use social engineering techniques, such as creating a sense of urgency, curiosity, or fear, to persuade the user to click on the link or attachment, or to reply to the email5. Phishing emails may also spoof the sender’s address, domain, or logo, to make them look more authentic and trustworthy6.

Whaling, pharming, and spam are not the correct answers for this question. Whaling is a specific type of phishing that targets high-profile individuals, such as executives, celebrities, or politicians, with the aim of stealing their confidential information or influencing their decisions7. Pharming is a type of attack that involves redirecting the user’s web browser to a fake website, even if they enter the correct URL, by modifying the DNS server or the user’s hosts file. Spam is the unsolicited or unwanted electronic messages, such as emails, texts, or instant messages, that are sent in bulk to a large number of recipients, usually for advertising, marketing, or scamming purposes. References:

• What is phishing? | Malwarebytes
• Phishing - Wikipedia
• Don’t Panic! Here’s What To Do If You Clicked On A Phishing Link
• How can Malware spread through Email and How to Protect
• What is phishing? How this cyber attack works and how to prevent it …
• Identifying Illegitimate Email Links | Division of Information Technology
• What is whaling? | NortonLifeLock
• [What is pharming? | NortonLifeLock]
• [What is spam? | NortonLifeLock]