HP HPE7-A02 - Aruba Certified Network Security Professional Exam

When enabling Wireless IDS/IPS infrastructure and client detection at a high level on HPE Aruba Networking APs without enabling prevention settings, HPE Aruba Networking recommends configuring detection at a custom level and adjusting settings to minimize false positives. This approach allows for effective monitoring while reducing the risk of unnecessary alerts and maintaining the accuracy of detections.

1.Custom Level Configuration: By customizing the detection settings, you can tailor the system to your specific environment, ensuring that only relevant threats are detected and reducing false positives.

2.False Positive Reduction: Disabling or tuning settings that are likely to produce false positives helps in maintaining the reliability of the detection system and prevents alert fatigue.

3.Focused Detection: Custom configuration ensures that the IDS/IPS focuses on critical detections, improving overall security posture.

To enable HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) to process Syslog messages from a Palo Alto Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) and quarantine clients involved in security incidents, you need to configure the Palo Alto as a context server on CPPM. This setup allows CPPM to receive and understand the context of the Syslog messages sent by the Palo Alto NGFW, enabling it to take appropriate actions such as quarantining clients.

1.Context Server Configuration: Configuring the Palo Alto NGFW as a context server in CPPM ensures that CPPM can process and respond to Syslog messages effectively.

2.Security Incident Response: By understanding the context of the Syslog messages, CPPM can automatically trigger actions like client quarantine based on security incidents detected by the NGFW.

3.Integration: This integration enhances the overall security posture by enabling coordinated responses between the firewall and CPPM.

To set up HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) for certificate-based authentication of 802.1X supplicants, you need to upload the root CA certificate as a Trusted CA with the EAP usage. This configuration allows the ClearPass server to validate the certificates presented by the supplicants during the 802.1X authentication process. By marking the certificate for EAP usage, ClearPass can properly authenticate the supplicant devices using the trusted certificate authority (CA) that issued their certificates.

The preferred method for assigning clients to a role on the AOS firewall is to configure HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) to assign the role using a RADIUS enforcement profile with an Aruba-User-Role VSA (Vendor-Specific Attribute). This method allows ClearPass to dynamically assign the appropriate user roles to clients during the authentication process, ensuring that role-based access policies are consistently enforced across the network.

1. IDPS Mode Configuration Overview

The exhibit shows the HPE Aruba Networking Central settings for the Gateway IDS/IPS configuration:

Mode: Configured for Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), meaning that the gateway actively blocks traffic identified as threats.

Fail Strategy: Configured to Block, meaning that if the gateway cannot determine the traffic's nature due to a system issue, it will block the traffic.

Ruleset: The gateway uses a predefined set of intrusion detection/prevention rules (ruleset version 9861), which is updated automatically every day.

2. Traffic Evaluation in IPS Mode

In IPS mode, the gateway analyzes traffic against the active ruleset:

If traffic matches a rule in the ruleset and is deemed malicious, the gateway will drop the traffic as part of its prevention mechanism.

The ruleset defines specific conditions (e.g., signatures of known attacks, protocol anomalies) under which traffic should be blocked.

3. Explanation of Each Option

A. Its site-to-site VPN connections failing:

Incorrect:

Site-to-site VPN connection issues do not directly trigger traffic drops under IDPS settings.

IDPS is focused on detecting and preventing malicious activity, not general connectivity issues.

B. Traffic matching a rule in the active ruleset:

Correct:

In IPS mode, the gateway drops traffic that matches any predefined rules in the active ruleset.

For example, if traffic matches the signature of a known exploit or attack, it is immediately blocked.

C. Its IDPS engine failing:

Incorrect:

The fail strategy determines how the gateway behaves in the event of an IDPS engine failure.

In this case, the fail strategy is set to Block, but this applies only if the engine itself fails, not as a proactive traffic drop mechanism.

D. Traffic showing anomalous behavior:

Incorrect:

While anomalous behavior may be logged or flagged, it does not necessarily lead to traffic drops unless it matches a specific rule in the active ruleset.

Anomaly detection alone is not sufficient for IPS action without explicit rule matches.

Final Outcome:

Traffic is dropped only when it matches a rule in the active ruleset, ensuring targeted prevention of malicious activity.

References

Aruba Gateway IDS/IPS Configuration Guide.

Aruba Central Ruleset Management Documentation.

Best Practices for Configuring Fail Strategies in IPS Mode.

When creating a rule in an HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) role mapping policy that references a ClearPass Device Insight Tag, you should specify the "Endpoint" Type (namespace) for the rule. This ensures that the policy can properly reference and utilize the tags assigned to endpoints by ClearPass Device Insight for making role mapping decisions.

1.Endpoint Tags: ClearPass Device Insight assigns tags to endpoints based on their characteristics and behaviors. These tags are stored in the "Endpoint" namespace.

2.Role Mapping: By referencing the "Endpoint" type, the rule can accurately match endpoints with the specified tags and apply the appropriate role mappings based on the device's profile.

3.Policy Consistency: Ensuring that the correct namespace is used maintains consistency and accuracy in role assignment policies.

HPE Aruba Central Live Monitoring:

Aruba Central provides real-time Live Monitoring of network devices, including:

Application usage statistics.

Trends and changes over time for specific devices.

This information is presented in a clear and easy-to-read format, making it ideal for examining changes in application usage over different time ranges.

Option Analysis:

Option A: Incorrect. ClearPass OnGuard monitors endpoint compliance (e.g., antivirus, OS version) but does not analyze application usage.

Option B: Correct. Aruba Central's Live Monitoring page is specifically designed for this type of analysis.

Option C: Incorrect. ClearPass Insight generates endpoint security reports but does not track application usage.

Option D: Incorrect. ClearPass Device Insight (CPDI) focuses on device profiling and identification, not continuous application monitoring.

Tag Updates Action - "Apply for All Tag Updates":

This setting ensures that all updated tags from Device Insight (CPDI) are applied dynamically.

It is particularly useful when you want to trigger Change of Authorization (CoA) without explicitly predefining the tag values.

Option D: Correct. This setting allows CPPM to issue CoAs automatically for updated tags without requiring prior configuration of specific tags.

Option A: Incorrect. The setting is not directly related to reducing the poll interval latency.

Option B: Incorrect. Disconnecting devices based on dangerous tags would require predefined enforcement rules.

Option C: Incorrect. Posture information updates do not directly rely on this setting.

Gateway Threat Count Alert

This alert indicates that the gateway has detected threats in traffic passing through it. HPE Aruba Networking Central provides tools to investigate and analyze these threats in detail.

Analysis of Each Option

A. Use HPE Aruba Networking Central tools to run a Network Check on the gateway with which the alert is associated:

Incorrect:

Network Check tools in Central are primarily used for connectivity and performance diagnostics, not for analyzing detected threats.

This does not provide insight into the specific threats triggering the Gateway Threat Count alert.

B. Use Live Monitoring on the gateway to download a packet capture of recent traffic flowing through the gateway:

Incorrect:

Live Monitoring and packet capture can provide raw traffic data, but interpreting this requires significant manual analysis.

The Gateway Threat Count alert already provides summarized threat insights that are easier to access via the threat list.

C. Check the threat list for the gateway associated with the alert. Access threat details and download packet info:

Correct:

The threat list is specifically designed to display detailed information about detected threats, such as their type, severity, and source/destination.

Administrators can access this list in Central for the affected gateway, view granular details, and even download associated packet data for deeper inspection.

D. Check the gateway's Audit Trail in HPE Aruba Networking Central for more details about the threats that triggered the alert:

Incorrect:

The Audit Trail tracks configuration changes and administrative actions, not the details of detected threats.

It is not relevant for investigating the Gateway Threat Count alert.

Final Recommendation

To gather more information about what caused the Gateway Threat Count alert to trigger, check the threat list for the associated gateway. This provides detailed threat information and the option to download packet data for further analysis.

References

HPE Aruba Networking Central Threat Management Guide.

Understanding Gateway IDS/IPS Alerts in Aruba Central Documentation.

Best Practices for Threat Investigation Using Aruba Central.

When WPA3 with 802.1X authentication is enforced on an HPE Aruba Networking WLAN, the authentication process strictly adheres to security standards. Here’s how the process works:

1. 802.1X Authentication Workflow in WPA3

The client must provide valid credentials (such as certificates or username/password) to authenticate with the RADIUS server via 802.1X.

If the client fails authentication (e.g., due to invalid credentials or lack of proper configuration), the 802.1X handshake fails, and the AP terminates the connection.

2. Role Assignment in WLANs

Default Role: The role assigned to authenticated clients after a successful 802.1X authentication. It is not applied to unauthenticated clients.

Critical Role: This is a fallback role applied when there are issues communicating with the RADIUS server, not when authentication fails.

Initial Role: A temporary role assigned to clients before authentication completes. However, this role is removed once the authentication process determines failure.

3. Behavior Upon Authentication Failure

In the case of an authentication failure, the client does not get assigned to any role (default, critical, or initial) because it does not meet the conditions for network access.

The client is dropped immediately, and no further communication is allowed until reauthentication is attempted.

Explanation of Each Option

A. The AP assigns the client to the WLAN's default role:

Incorrect: The default role applies only after successful authentication, not in case of authentication failure.

B. The AP drops the client because authentication aborts:

Correct: If the client fails authentication, the AP terminates the connection without assigning any roles.

C. The AP assigns the client to the WLAN's critical role:

Incorrect: The critical role is used when the AP cannot reach the RADIUS server, not when authentication fails.

D. The AP assigns the client to the WLAN's initial role:

Incorrect: The initial role is applied during the authentication process, but it is not retained after a failed authentication.

References

Aruba Central WLAN Configuration Guide.

WPA3 and 802.1X Authentication Best Practices in Aruba Networks.

Aruba AP Role Assignment Workflow Documentation.