Paloalto Networks PSE-Strata - Palo Alto Networks System Engineer Professional - Strata

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 Palo Alto Networks platform approach to security offers several key benefits:

Operational Efficiencies: By automating incident review and response, the platform reduces the need for manual intervention, thereby decreasing the mean time to resolution (MTTR). This streamlines security operations and allows teams to focus on more strategic tasks.

Increased Security: The scalable cloud-delivered security services (CDSS) provided by Palo Alto Networks ensure that security measures can be dynamically scaled to meet the needs of the organization, offering robust protection against evolving threats.

Cost Savings: The platform reduces the overall IT management effort and device requirements, leading to significant cost savings. This is achieved through integrated solutions that minimize the need for multiple disparate security products and simplify management.

When access to a business site is blocked by URL Filtering inline machine learning (ML) and it is identified as a false positive, the appropriate way to resolve this is to create a custom URL category and add the site to the exceptions list of the inline ML profile. This ensures that the specific URL is no longer subjected to the filtering rules applied by the inline ML, thereby allowing access to the site.

Creating a custom URL category and adding it to the exceptions of the inline ML profile ensures that the legitimate business site is accessible without completely disabling the URL Filtering inline ML feature, which would reduce overall security effectiveness.

References:

Palo Alto Networks, URL Filtering Administration Guide.

This action will optimize the traffic flow by ensuring that there is a direct and efficient path for traffic within the Americas region. By onboarding a Service Connection in this region, you can reduce latency and improve the performance of the network for users and branches located there. This adjustment is critical for maintaining optimal network performance and user experience.

In PAN-OS, when a portable executable (PE) file larger than 10 MB (default threshold) is encountered, it is not forwarded to the WildFire cloud service. This is due to size limitations on file submissions to the service.

Default Behavior:

Files exceeding the size limit are not forwarded to WildFire for analysis.

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)​.

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

AutoFocus is the solution that informs a customer whether an attack is specifically targeted at them. AutoFocus provides high-fidelity, contextual threat intelligence by correlating data from a global network of sensors and applying advanced analytics to identify targeted attacks. This helps organizations understand if they are being specifically targeted and to tailor their defenses accordingly​ (Palo Alto Networks)​.

Preventing unknown targeted attacks requires advanced techniques that can identify and mitigate threats in real-time.

App-ID with the Zero Trust model (Option B):

App-ID identifies applications traversing the network regardless of port, protocol, or evasive tactic employed, ensuring that only legitimate applications are allowed, following the principles of the Zero Trust model.

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.