PSE-Strata-Pro-24 Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer Professional - Hardware Firewall Questions and Answers

To demonstrate compliance with Zero Trust principles, a systems engineer can leverage the rich reporting and logging capabilities of Palo Alto Networks firewalls. The focus should be on creating reports that align with the customer's Zero Trust strategy, providing detailed insights into policy enforcement, user activity, and application usage.

Option A: Scheduling a pre-built PDF report does not offer the flexibility to align the report with the customer’s specific Zero Trust plan. While useful for automated reporting, this option is too generic for demonstrating Zero Trust compliance.

Option B (Correct): Custom reports in the "Monitor > Manage Custom Reports" tab allow the customer to build tailored reports that align with their Zero Trust plan. These reports can include granular details such as application usage, user activity, policy enforcement logs, and segmentation compliance. This approach ensures the customer can present evidence directly related to their Zero Trust implementation.

Option C: Using a third-party tool is unnecessary as Palo Alto Networks NGFWs already have built-in capabilities to log, report, and demonstrate policy enforcement. This option adds complexity and may not fully leverage the native capabilities of the NGFW.

Option D: The Application Command Center (ACC) is useful for visualizing traffic and historical data but is not a reporting tool. While it can complement custom reports, it is not a substitute for generating Zero Trust-specific compliance reports.

The CN-Series firewalls are Palo Alto Networks’ containerized Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) designed to secure Kubernetes clusters. Unlike the Strata Hardware Firewalls (e.g., PA-Series), which are physical appliances, the CN-Series is a software-based solution deployed within containerized environments. The question focuses on the specific files used to deploy CN-Series firewalls in Kubernetes clusters. Based on Palo Alto Networks’ official documentation, the two correct files are PAN-CN-MGMT-CONFIGMAP and PAN-CN-MGMT. Below is a detailed explanation of why these files are essential, with references to CN-Series deployment processes (noting that Strata hardware documentation is not directly applicable here but is contextualized for clarity).

Step 1: Understanding CN-Series Deployment in Kubernetes

The CN-Series firewall consists of two primary components: the CN-MGMT (management plane) and the CN-NGFW (data plane). These components are deployed as containers in a Kubernetes cluster, orchestrated using YAML configuration files. The deployment process involves defining resources such as ConfigMaps, Pods, and Services to instantiate and manage the CN-Series components. The files listed in the question are Kubernetes manifests or configuration files used during this process.

CN-MGMT Role: The CN-MGMT container handles the management plane, providing configuration, logging, and policy enforcement for the CN-Series firewall. It requires a dedicated YAML file to define its deployment.

CN-NGFW Role: The CN-NGFW container handles the data plane, inspecting traffic within the Kubernetes cluster. It relies on configurations provided by CN-MGMT and additional networking setup (e.g., via CNI plugins).

ConfigMaps: Kubernetes ConfigMaps store configuration data separately from container images, making them critical for passing settings to CN-Series components.

The customer is seeking centralized policy management to reduce human error while maintaining compliance with their contractual obligations to AWS and Azure. Here's the evaluation of each option:

Option A: Cloud NGFWs at both CSPs; provide the customer a license for a Panorama virtual appliance from their CSP's marketplace of choice to centrally manage the systems

Cloud NGFW is a fully managed Next-Generation Firewall service by Palo Alto Networks, offered in AWS and Azure marketplaces. It integrates natively with the CSP infrastructure, making it a good fit for customers with existing CSP agreements.

Panorama, Palo Alto Networks' centralized management solution, can be deployed as a virtual appliance in the CSP marketplace of choice, enabling centralized policy management across all NGFWs.

This option addresses the customer's need for centralized management while leveraging their existing contracts with AWS and Azure.

This option is appropriate.

Option B: Cloud NGFWs in AWS and VM-Series firewall in Azure; the customer selects a PAYG licensing Panorama deployment in their CSP of choice

This option suggests using Cloud NGFW in AWS but VM-Series firewalls in Azure. While VM-Series is a flexible virtual firewall solution, it may not align with the customer’s stated preference for CSP-managed services like Cloud NGFW.

This option introduces a mix of solutions that could complicate centralized management and reduce operational efficiency.

This option is less appropriate.

Option C: VM-Series firewalls in both CSPs; manually built Panorama in the CSP of choice on a host of either type: Palo Alto Networks provides a license

VM-Series firewalls are well-suited for cloud deployments but require more manual configuration compared to Cloud NGFW.

Building a Panorama instance manually on a host increases operational overhead and does not leverage the customer’s existing CSP marketplaces.

This option is less aligned with the customer's needs.

Option D: VM-Series firewall and CN-Series firewall in both CSPs; provide the customer a private-offer Panorama virtual appliance from their CSP’s marketplace of choice to centrally manage the systems

This option introduces both VM-Series and CN-Series firewalls in both CSPs. While CN-Series firewalls are designed for Kubernetes environments, they may not be relevant if the customer does not specifically require container-level security.

Adding CN-Series firewalls may introduce unnecessary complexity and costs.

This option is not appropriate.

To address the MSSP’s requirement for logically separated BGP peering setups while efficiently managing standard routing rules and updates, Palo Alto Networks offers the Advanced Routing Engine introduced in PAN-OS 11.0. The Advanced Routing Engine enhances routing capabilities, including support for logical routers, which is critical in this scenario.

Why A is Correct

Logical routers enable the MSSP to create isolated BGP peering configurations for each customer.

The Advanced Routing Engine allows the MSSP to share standard routing profiles (such as filters, policies, or maps) across logical routers, simplifying the deployment and maintenance of routing configurations.

This approach ensures scalability, as each logical router can handle the unique needs of a customer while leveraging shared routing rules.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect

B: While using APIs to automate deployment is beneficial, it does not solve the need for logically separated BGP peering setups. Logical routers provide this separation natively.

C: While virtual routers in PAN-OS can separate BGP peering setups, they do not support the efficient sharing of standard routing rules and profiles across multiple routers.

D: Virtual systems (vsys) are used to segregate administrative domains, not routing configurations. Vsys is not the appropriate solution for managing BGP peering setups across multiple customers.

Key Takeaways:

PAN-OS Advanced Routing Engine with logical routers simplifies BGP peering management for MSSPs.

Logical routers provide the separation required for customer environments while enabling shared configuration profiles.

When configuring Advanced URL Filtering on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, the "Ransomware" category should be explicitly blocked to protect customers from URLs associated with ransomware activities. Ransomware URLs typically host malicious code or scripts designed to encrypt user data and demand a ransom. By blocking the "Ransomware" category, systems engineers can proactively prevent users from accessing such URLs.

Why "Ransomware" (Correct Answer A)?The "Ransomware" category is specifically curated by Palo Alto Networks to include URLs known to deliver ransomware or support ransomware operations. Blocking this category ensures that any URL categorized as part of this list will be inaccessible to end-users, significantly reducing the risk of ransomware attacks.

Why not "High Risk" (Option B)?While the "High Risk" category includes potentially malicious sites, it is broader and less targeted. It may not always block ransomware-specific URLs. "High Risk" includes a range of websites that are flagged based on factors like bad reputation or hosting malicious content in general. It is less focused than the "Ransomware" category.

Why not "Scanning Activity" (Option C)?The "Scanning Activity" category focuses on URLs used in vulnerability scans, automated probing, or reconnaissance by attackers. Although such activity could be a precursor to ransomware attacks, it does not directly block ransomware URLs.

Why not "Command and Control" (Option D)?The "Command and Control" category is designed to block URLs used by malware or compromised systems to communicate with their operators. While some ransomware may utilize command-and-control (C2) servers, blocking C2 URLs alone does not directly target ransomware URLs themselves.

By using the Advanced URL Filtering profile and blocking the "Ransomware" category, the firewall applies targeted controls to mitigate ransomware-specific threats.

Step 1: Understand the Best Practice Assessment (BPA)

Purpose: The BPA assesses NGFW (e.g., PA-Series) and Panorama configurations against best practices, including Center for Internet Security (CIS) Critical Security Controls, to enhance security and feature adoption.

Process: Requires a Tech Support File (TSF) upload or telemetry data from onboarded devices to generate the report.

Evolution: Historically available via the Customer Support Portal, the BPA has transitioned to newer platforms like AIOps and Strata Cloud Manager.

Zero-day malware attacks are sophisticated threats that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities or malware signatures. To provide protection against such attacks, the appropriate Cloud-Delivered Security Service subscription must be included.

Why "Advanced WildFire" (Correct Answer C)?Advanced WildFire is Palo Alto Networks’ sandboxing solution that identifies and prevents zero-day malware. It uses machine learning, dynamic analysis, and static analysis to detect unknown malware in real time.

Files and executables are analyzed in the cloud-based sandbox, and protections are shared globally within minutes.

Advanced WildFire specifically addresses zero-day threats by dynamically analyzing suspicious files and generating new signatures.

Why not "AI Access Security" (Option A)?AI Access Security is designed to secure SaaS applications by monitoring and enforcing data protection and compliance. While useful for SaaS security, it does not focus on detecting or preventing zero-day malware.

Why not "Advanced Threat Prevention" (Option B)?Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) focuses on detecting zero-day exploits (e.g., SQL injection, buffer overflows) using inline deep learning but is not specifically designed to analyze and prevent zero-day malware. ATP complements Advanced WildFire, but WildFire is the primary solution for malware detection.

Why not "App-ID" (Option D)?App-ID identifies and controls applications on the network. While it improves visibility and security posture, it does not address zero-day malware detection or prevention.

5G Security (Answer A):

In this scenario, the mining company operates on a private mobile network, likely powered by 5G technology to ensure low latency and high bandwidth for controlling robots and vehicles.

Palo Alto Networks 5G Security is specifically designed to protect private mobile networks. It prevents exploitation of vulnerabilities in the 5G infrastructure and ensures the control signals sent to the machines are not compromised by attackers.

Key features include network slicing protection, signaling plane security, and secure user plane communications.

IoT Security (Answer C):

The mining operation depends on machines and remote-controlled vehicles, which are IoT devices.

Palo Alto Networks IoT Security provides:

Full device visibility to detect all IoT devices (such as robots, remote vehicles, or sensors).

Behavioral analysis to create risk profiles and identify anomalies in the machines' operations.

This ensures a secure environment for IoT devices, reducing the risk of a device being exploited.

Why Not Cloud NGFW (Answer B):

While Cloud NGFW is critical for protecting cloud-based applications, the specific concern here is protecting control signals and IoT devices rather than external access into the cloud service.

The private mobile network and IoT device protection requirements make 5G Security and IoT Security more relevant.

Why Not Advanced CDSS Bundle (Answer D):

The Advanced CDSS bundle (Advanced Threat Prevention, Advanced WildFire, Advanced URL Filtering) is essential for securing web traffic and detecting threats, but it does not address the specific challenges of securing private mobile networks and IoT devices.

While these services can supplement the design, they are not the primary focus in this use case.

References from Palo Alto Networks Documentation:

5G Security for Private Mobile Networks

IoT Security Solution Brief

Cloud NGFW Overview

When an existing customer expands their online business into physical stores and requires Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) at those locations to handle SD-WAN, security, and data protection—while mandating a vendor-validated deployment method—a systems engineer must leverage Palo Alto Networks’ Strata Hardware Firewall capabilities and validated deployment strategies. The Strata portfolio, particularly the PA-Series NGFWs, is designed to secure branch offices with integrated SD-WAN and robust security features. Below is a detailed explanation of why options A and D are the correct actions, grounded in Palo Alto Networks’ documentation and practices as of March 08, 2025.

Step 1: Recommend Professional Services (Option A)

The customer’s requirement for a "vendor-validated deployment method" implies a need for expertise and assurance that the solution meets their specific needs—SD-WAN, security, and data protection—across new physical stores. Palo Alto Networks offers professional services, either directly or through certified partners, to ensure proper deployment of Strata Hardware Firewalls like the PA-400 Series or PA-1400 Series, which are ideal for branch deployments. These services provide end-to-end support, from planning to implementation, aligning with the customer’s mandate for a validated approach.

Professional Services Scope: Palo Alto Networks’ professional services include architecture design, deployment, and optimization for NGFWs and SD-WAN. This ensures that the PA-Series firewalls are configured to handle SD-WAN (e.g., dynamic path selection), security (e.g., Threat Prevention with ML-powered inspection), and data protection (e.g., WildFire for malware analysis and Data Loss Prevention integration).

Vendor Validation: By recommending these services, the engineer ensures a deployment that adheres to Palo Alto Networks’ best practices, meeting the customer’s requirement for a vendor-validated method. This is particularly critical for a customer new to physical store deployments, as it mitigates risks and accelerates time-to-value.

Strata Hardware Relevance: The PA-410, for example, is a desktop NGFW designed for small branch offices, offering SD-WAN and Zero Trust security out of the box. Professional services ensure its correct integration into the customer’s ecosystem.

When sizing a Palo Alto Networks NGFW appliance, it's crucial to consider variables that affect its performance and capacity. These include the network's traffic characteristics, application requirements, and expected workloads. Below is the analysis of each option:

Option A: Connections per second

Connections per second (CPS) is a critical metric for determining how many new sessions the firewall can handle per second. High CPS requirements are common in environments with high traffic turnover, such as web servers or applications with frequent session terminations and creations.

This is an important sizing variable.

Option B: Max sessions

Max sessions represent the total number of concurrent sessions the firewall can support. For environments with a large number of users or devices, this metric is critical to prevent session exhaustion.

This is an important sizing variable.

Option C: Packet replication

Packet replication is used in certain configurations, such as TAP mode or port mirroring for traffic inspection. While it impacts performance, it is not a primary variable for firewall sizing as it is a specific use case.

This is not a key variable for sizing.

Option D: App-ID firewall throughput

App-ID throughput measures the firewall's ability to inspect traffic and apply policies based on application signatures. It directly impacts the performance of traffic inspection under real-world conditions.

This is an important sizing variable.

Option E: Telemetry enabled

While telemetry provides data for monitoring and analysis, enabling it does not significantly impact the sizing of the firewall. It is not a core variable for determining firewall performance or capacity.

This is not a key variable for sizing.

Step 1: Understanding Strata Cloud Manager (SCM) Premium

Strata Cloud Manager is a unified management interface for Strata NGFWs, Prisma Access, and other Palo Alto Networks solutions. The Premium version (subscription-based) includes advanced features like:

AIOps Premium: Predictive analytics, capacity planning, and compliance reporting.

Compliance Posture Management: Pre-built dashboards and reports for specific regulatory frameworks.

Compliance frameworks in SCM Premium provide visibility into adherence to standards like PCI DSS and NIST, generating actionable insights and audit-ready reports based on firewall configurations, logs, and traffic data.

Advanced WildFire is Palo Alto Networks' cloud-based malware analysis and prevention solution. It determines whether files are malicious by executing them in a sandbox environment and observing their behavior. To address the customer's concern about the file categorization, the systems engineer must provide evidence of the file's behavior. Here’s the analysis of each option:

Option A: Review the threat logs for information to provide to the customer

Threat logs can provide a summary of events and verdicts for malicious files, but they do not include the detailed behavior analysis needed to convince the customer.

While reviewing the logs is helpful as a preliminary step, it does not provide the level of proof the customer needs.

This option is not sufficient on its own.

Option B: Use the WildFire Analysis Report in the log to show the customer the malicious actions the file took when it was detonated

WildFire generates an analysis report that includes details about the file's behavior during detonation in the sandbox, such as network activity, file modifications, process executions, and any indicators of compromise (IoCs).

This report provides concrete evidence to demonstrate why the file was flagged as malicious. It is the most accurate way to assure the customer that WildFire's decision was based on observed malicious actions.

This is the best option.

Option C: Open a TAG ticket for the customer and allow support engineers to determine the appropriate action

While opening a support ticket is a valid action for further analysis or appeal, it is not a direct way to assure the customer of the current WildFire verdict.

This option does not directly address the customer’s request for immediate proof.

This option is not ideal.

Option D: Do nothing because the customer will realize Advanced WildFire is right

This approach is dismissive of the customer's concerns and does not provide any evidence to support WildFire's decision.

This option is inappropriate.

Synchronizing a large Active Directory (AD) with over 20,000 groups can introduce significant overhead if all groups are synchronized, especially when only a subset of groups (e.g., 1,000 groups) are required for Security policies. The most efficient approach is to configure a group mapping profile with an include group list to minimize unnecessary synchronization and reduce administrative overhead.

Why "Configure a group mapping profile with an include group list" (Correct Answer C)?Using a group mapping profile with an include group list ensures that only the required 1,000 groups are synchronized with the firewall. This approach:

Reduces the load on the firewall's User-ID process by limiting the number of synchronized groups.

Simplifies management by focusing on the specific groups relevant to Security policies.

Avoids synchronizing the entire directory (20,000 groups), which would be inefficient and resource-intensive.

Why not "Configure a group mapping profile, without a filter, to synchronize all groups" (Option B)?Synchronizing all 20,000 groups would unnecessarily increase administrative and resource overhead. This approach contradicts the requirement to reduce administrative burden.

Why not "Configure a group mapping profile with custom filters for LDAP attributes that are mapped to the user roles" (Option A)?While filtering LDAP attributes can be useful, this approach is more complex to implement and manage compared to an include group list. It does not directly address the problem of limiting synchronization to a specific subset of groups.

Why not "Configure NGFWs to synchronize with the AD after deploying the Cloud Identity Engine (CIE) and agents" (Option D)?While the Cloud Identity Engine (CIE) is a modern solution for user and group mapping, it is unnecessary in this scenario. A traditional group mapping profile with an include list is sufficient and simpler to implement. CIE is typically used for complex hybrid or cloud environments.

The appropriate CDSS subscription to inspect and mitigate suspicious DNS traffic is Advanced DNS Security. Here’s why:

Advanced DNS Security protects against DNS-based threats, including domain generation algorithms (DGA), DNS tunneling (often used for data exfiltration), and malicious domains used in attacks. It leverages machine learning to detect and block DNS traffic associated with command-and-control servers or other malicious activities. In this case, unusually high DNS traffic to an unfamiliar IP address is likely indicative of a DNS-based attack or malware activity, making this the most suitable service.

Option A: Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) focuses on identifying and blocking sophisticated threats in network traffic, such as exploits and evasive malware. While it complements DNS Security, it does not specialize in analyzing DNS-specific traffic patterns.

Option B: Advanced WildFire focuses on detecting and preventing file-based threats, such as malware delivered via email attachments or web downloads. It does not provide specific protection for DNS-related anomalies.

Option C: Advanced URL Filtering is designed to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites based on their URLs. While DNS may be indirectly involved in resolving malicious websites, this service does not directly inspect DNS traffic patterns for threats.

Option D (Correct): Advanced DNS Security specifically addresses DNS-based threats. By enabling this service, the customer can detect and block DNS queries to malicious domains and investigate anomalous DNS behavior like the high traffic observed in this scenario.

How to Enable Advanced DNS Security:

Ensure the firewall has a valid Advanced DNS Security license.

Navigate to Objects > Security Profiles > Anti-Spyware.

Enable DNS Security under the "DNS Signatures" section.

Apply the Anti-Spyware profile to the relevant Security Policy to enforce DNS Security.