Paloalto Networks Practitioner - Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Practitioner (PCCP)

A physical firewall is ideal for environments like a company headquarters that require redundant power, high throughput, and dedicated hardware for maximum reliability and performance. It supports more robust failover and scalability compared to virtual or containerized options.

Prisma Access provides firewall as a service (FWaaS) that protects branch offices from threats while also providing the security services expected from a next-generation firewall. The full spectrum of FWaaS includes threat prevention, URL filtering, sandboxing, and more.

Cloud-native security is the integration of security strategies into applications and systems designed to be deployed and to run in cloud environments. It involves a layered approach that considers security at every level of the cloud-native application architecture. The four C’s of cloud-native security are123:

Code: This layer refers to the application code and its dependencies. Security at this layer involves ensuring the code is free of vulnerabilities, using secure coding practices, and implementing encryption, authentication, and authorization mechanisms.

Container: This layer refers to the lightweight, isolated units that encapsulate the application and its dependencies. Security at this layer involves scanning and verifying the container images, enforcing policies and rules for container deployment and runtime, and isolating and protecting the containers from unauthorized access.

Cluster: This layer refers to the group of nodes that host the containers and provide orchestration and management capabilities. Security at this layer involves securing the communication between the nodes and the containers, monitoring and auditing the cluster activity, and applying security patches and updates to the cluster components.

Cloud: This layer refers to the underlying infrastructure and services that support the cloud-native applications. Security at this layer involves configuring and hardening the cloud resources, implementing identity and access management, and complying with the cloud provider’s security standards and best practices.

The correct order of the four C’s from the top (surface) layer to the bottom (base) layer is code, container, cluster, cloud, as each layer depends on the security of the next outermost layer. References: What Is Cloud-Native Security? - Palo Alto Networks, What is Cloud-Native Security? An Introduction | Splunk, The 4C’s of Cloud Native Kubernetes security - Medium

A containerized architecture packages software along with its dependencies, libraries, and configuration into an isolated unit called a container. This ensures consistent behavior across environments and simplifies deployment and scaling.

 A sanctioned application is an application that is approved by the IT department and meets the security and compliance requirements of the organization. Sanctioned applications are allowed to access the organization’s network and data and are monitored and protected by the IT department. Examples of sanctioned applications are Office 365, Salesforce, and Zoom. Sanctioned applications are different from unsanctioned, prohibited, and tolerated applications, which are not approved by the IT department and may pose security risks to the organization. Unsanctioned applications are applications that are used by the employees without the IT department’s knowledge or consent, such as Dropbox, Gmail, or Facebook. Prohibited applications are applications that are explicitly forbidden by the IT department, such as BitTorrent, Tor, or malware. Tolerated applications are applications that are not approved by the IT department, but are not blocked or restricted, such as Skype, Spotify, or YouTube. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET), Cloud Security Fundamentals - Module 4: Cloud Security Best Practices, Application Visibility and Control

Security Operations (SecOps) is the process of coordinating and aligning security teams and IT teams to improve the security posture of an organization. SecOps involves implementing and maintaining security controls, technologies, policies, and procedures to protect the organization from cyber threats and incidents. When dealing with a known attack, SecOps must take the following action: document, monitor, and track the incident. This action is important because it helps SecOps to:

•Record the details of the attack, such as the source, target, impact, timeline, and response actions.

•Monitor the status and progress of the incident response and recovery efforts, as well as the ongoing threat activity and indicators of compromise.

•Track the performance and effectiveness of the security controls and technologies, as well as the lessons learned and improvement opportunities. References:

•Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET)

•6 Incident Response Steps to Take After a Security Event - Exabeam

•Dealing with Cyber Attacks–Steps You Need to Know | NIST

page 211 "Consolidating servers within trust levels: Organizations often consolidate servers within the same trust level into a single virtual computing environment: ... ... ... This virtual systems capability enables a single physical device to be used to simultaneously meet the unique requirements of multiple VMs or groups of VMs. Control and protection of inter-host traffic with physical network security appliances that are properly positioned and configured is the primary security focus."

 Docker and bare metal hypervisor are two different types of virtualization technologies that have different functioning mechanisms, architectures, and use cases. Docker is a containerization technology that allows users to create, deploy, and run applications using containers. Containers are isolated environments that share the same host operating system kernel, but have their own libraries, dependencies, and resources. Docker can run multiple containers on the same host, without requiring a separate operating system for each container12. Bare metal hypervisor, also known as type 1 hypervisor, is a software that runs directly on the hardware and creates virtual machines. Virtual machines are complete operating systems that have their own kernel, drivers, and resources. Bare metal hypervisor can run multiple virtual machines on the same host, each with a different operating system and dedicated resources3 .

The main difference between Docker and bare metal hypervisor is the level of abstraction they provide. Docker uses OS-level virtualization, which means it creates containers on top of the host operating system. Bare metal hypervisor uses hardware virtualization, which means it runs independently from the host operating system and creates virtual machines on the hardware layer. This difference has implications for the performance, efficiency, and portability of the virtualized environments. Docker containers are generally faster, lighter, and more scalable than virtual machines, as they do not have the overhead of running a separate operating system for each container. However, Docker containers are more limited and can run only on Linux, certain Windows servers and IBM mainframes if hosted on bare metal. Virtual machines, on the other hand, are more flexible and secure, as they can run any operating system and isolate the guest operating system from the host operating system. However, virtual machines are more resource-intensive and slower than containers, as they have to emulate the hardware and run a full operating system for each virtual machine12.

Docker vs VMWare: How Do They Stack Up? | UpGuard

Hypervisor vs. Docker: Complete Comparison of the Two - HitechNectar

Beginners Track - Docker On Bare Metal | dockerlabs

[Getting Started: Layer 3 Subinterfaces - Palo Alto Networks Knowledge Base]

SSL/TLS decryption allows security tools to inspect encrypted traffic, enabling them to detect hidden malware, command-and-control communication, or data exfiltration that would otherwise bypass inspection if left encrypted.