PCCET Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician Question and Answers

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

IDSs and IPSs also can be classified as knowledge-based (or signature-based) or behavior-based (or statistical anomaly-based) systems:

● A knowledge-based system uses a database of known vulnerabilities and attack profiles

to identify intrusion attempts. These types of systems have lower false-alarm rates than

behavior-based systems but must be continually updated with new attack signatures to

be effective.

● A behavior-based system uses a baseline of normal network activity to identify unusual

patterns or levels of network activity that may be indicative of an intrusion attempt.

These types of systems are more adaptive than knowledge-based systems and therefore

may be more effective in detecting previously unknown vulnerabilities and attacks, but they have a much higher false-positive rate than knowledge-based systems

 A static route is a manually configured route that specifies the destination network and the next hop IP address or interface to reach it. A static route does not depend on any routing protocol and remains in the routing table until it is removed or overridden. Static routes are useful for defining default routes, reaching stub networks, or providing backup routes in case of link failures. To configure a static route in a virtual router on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, you need to specify the name, destination, interface, and next hop IP address or virtual router of the route. References: Configure a Static Route in Virtual Routers, Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET), FREE Cybersecurity Education Courses

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is an example of a distance-vector routing protocol that uses hop count as its routing metric. To prevent routing loops, in which packets effectively get stuck bouncing between various router nodes, RIP implements a hop limit of 15, which limits the size of networks that RIP can support. After a data packet crosses 15 router nodes (hops) between a source and a destination, the destination is considered unreachable.

From a business perspective, XDR platforms enable organizations to prevent successful cyberattacks as well as simplify and strengthen security processes.

Prisma SaaS is a cloud access security broker (CASB) solution that helps secure and manage SaaS applications. It provides advanced capabilities in risk discovery, data loss prevention, compliance assurance, data governance, user behavior monitoring, and advanced threat prevention12. The three services that are part of Prisma SaaS are:

• Data Loss Prevention: This service helps prevent the leakage or exposure of sensitive data stored in SaaS applications. It allows you to define data patterns, policies, and actions to protect your data from unauthorized access or sharing3.
• Data Exposure Control: This service helps identify and remediate data exposure risks in SaaS applications. It scans your data at rest and classifies it based on its sensitivity and exposure level. It also provides recommendations and remediation actions to reduce the risk of data breaches4.
• Threat Prevention: This service helps detect and block malicious activities and threats in SaaS applications. It leverages the WildFire and AutoFocus threat intelligence services to analyze user and file activity and identify indicators of compromise. It also provides alerts and response actions to mitigate the impact of threats5.

References:

• Prisma SaaS Overview
• Prisma SaaS - Palo Alto Networks
• Data Loss Prevention
• Data Exposure Control
• Threat Prevention

 If an endpoint does not know how to reach its destination, it will send data to the specified default gateway. A default gateway is a device that routes traffic from a local network to other networks or the internet. The endpoint will use the default gateway’s IP address as the next hop for packets that are destined for unknown or remote networks. The default gateway will then forward the packets to the appropriate destination or another gateway, based on its routing table. References:

• Fundamentals of Network Security, Module 2: Networking Concepts, Lesson 2: IP Addressing and Routing1
• PCCET Study Guide, Section 2.2: Describe IP Addressing and Routing2

"Remember that a trust zone is not intended to be a “pocket of trust” where systems (and therefore threats) within the zone can communicate freely and directly with each other. For a full Zero Trust implementation, the network would be configured to ensure that all communications traffic, including traffic between devices in the same zone, is intermediated by the corresponding Zero Trust Segmentation Platform."

To maximize the use of a network address, the administrator should use the subnet that can accommodate the required number of hosts with the least amount of wasted IP addresses. The subnet mask determines how many bits are used for the network portion and the host portion of the IP address. The more bits are used for the network portion, the more subnets can be created, but the fewer hosts can be assigned to each subnet. The formula to calculate the number of hosts per subnet is

2(32−n)−2

, where

n

is the number of bits in the network portion of the subnet mask. For example, a /30 subnet mask has 30 bits in the network portion, so the number of hosts per subnet is

2(32−30)−2=2

A /25 subnet mask has 25 bits in the network portion, so the number of hosts per subnet is

2(32−25)−2=126

The subnet 192.168.6.0/25 can accommodate 126 hosts, which is enough for the network with 120 hosts. The subnet 192.168.6.168/30 can only accommodate 2 hosts, which is not enough. The subnet 192.168.6.160/29 can accommodate 6 hosts, which is also not enough. The subnet 192.168.6.128/27 can accommodate 30 hosts, which is enough, but it wastes more IP addresses than the /25 subnet. Therefore, the best option is B. 192.168.6.0/25. References:

• Getting Started: Layer 3 Subinterfaces - Palo Alto Networks Knowledge Base
• DotW: Multiple IP Addresses on an Interface - Palo Alto Networks Knowledge Base
• Configure NAT - Palo Alto Networks | TechDocs

 A zero-day threat is an attack that takes advantage of a security vulnerability that does not have a fix in place. It is referred to as a “zero-day” threat because once the flaw is eventually discovered, the developer or organization has “zero days” to then come up with a solution. A zero-day threat can compromise a system or network by exploiting the unknown vulnerability, and can cause data loss, unauthorized access, or other damages. Zero-day threats are difficult to detect and prevent, and require advanced security solutions and practices to mitigate them. References:

• Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET)
• Zero-day (computing) - Wikipedia
• What is a zero-day exploit? | Zero-day threats | Cloudflare

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

Application (Layer 4 or L4): This layer loosely corresponds to Layers 5 through 7 of the OSI model.

Transport (Layer 3 or L3): This layer corresponds to Layer 4 of the OSI model.

Internet (Layer 2 or L2): This layer corresponds to Layer 3 of the OSI model.

Network Access (Layer 1 or L1): This layer corresponds to Layers 1 and 2 of the OSI model

● 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.

 A cloud native security platform (CNSP) is a set of security practices and technologies designed specifically for applications built and deployed in cloud environments. It involves a shift in mindset from traditional security approaches, which often rely on network-based protections, to a more application-focused approach that emphasizes identity and access management, container security and workload security, and continuous monitoring and response. A CNSP offers three main benefits for cloud native applications:

• Agility: A CNSP enables faster and more frequent delivery of software updates, as security is built into the application and infrastructure from the ground up, rather than added on as an afterthought. This allows for seamless integration of security controls into the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, reducing the risk of security gaps or delays. A CNSP also leverages automation and orchestration to simplify and streamline security operations, such as configuration, patching, scanning, and remediation.
• Digital transformation: A CNSP supports the adoption of cloud native technologies, such as microservices, containers, serverless, and platform as a service (PaaS), which enable greater scalability, deployability, manageability, and performance of cloud applications. These technologies also allow for more innovation and experimentation, as developers can easily create, test, and deploy new features and functionalities. A CNSP helps to protect these cloud native architectures from threats and vulnerabilities, while also ensuring compliance with regulations and standards.
• Flexibility: A CNSP provides consistent and comprehensive security across different cloud environments, such as public, private, and multi-cloud. It also allows for customization and adaptation of security policies and controls to suit the specific needs and preferences of each application and organization. A CNSP can also integrate with other security tools and platforms, such as firewalls, endpoint protection, threat intelligence, and security information and event management (SIEM), to provide a holistic and unified view of the security posture and risk level of cloud applications.

References:

• What Is a Cloud Native Security Platform?
• What Is Cloud-Native Security?
• All You Need to Know About Cloud Native Security
• Top Five Benefits of Cloud Native Application Security

Event Viewer is a native Windows application that can be used to inspect actions taken at a specific time. Event Viewer displays detailed information about significant events on your computer, such as application, security, system, and setup events. You can use Event Viewer to monitor and troubleshoot problems with your computer, such as hardware failures, software errors, security breaches, network issues, etc. Event Viewer allows you to filter, sort, and search events by various criteria, such as date and time, event level, event source, event ID, etc. You can also view the event properties, which provide more details about the event, such as the event description, user name, computer name, event data, etc. Event Viewer can help you identify the root cause of a problem, or provide evidence of a malicious activity, by inspecting the actions taken at a specific time on your computer. References:

• Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET) - Palo Alto Networks
• WinAppDriver and Desktop UI Test Automation - Microsoft Tech Community
• Palo Alto Networks PCCET Quiz 1 Topic 14 Questions 1-5 - Buddy4Exam
• Paloalto Networks Exam PCCET Questions and Answers - DumpsMate
• Event Viewer - Windows 10 - Microsoft Docs

A Jasager attack is a type of wireless man-in-the-middle attack that exploits the way mobile devices search for known wireless networks. A Jasager device will respond to any beacon request from a mobile device by saying “Yes, I’m here”, pretending to be one of the preferred networks. This way, the Jasager device can trick the mobile device into connecting to it, without the user’s knowledge or consent. The Jasager device can then intercept, modify, or redirect the traffic of the victim. For this attack to work, the attacker needs to be within close proximity of the victim, and the victim must have at least one known network in their preferred list. The victim does not need to manually choose the attacker’s access point, nor does the attacker try to get victims to connect at random. References: Wireless Man in the Middle - Palo Alto Networks, Man-in-the-middle attacks with malicious & rogue Wi-Fi access points - Privacy Guides

Prisma Cloud comprises four pillars:

● Visibility, governance, and compliance. Gain deep visibility into the security posture of

multicloud environments. Track everything that gets deployed with an automated asset

inventory, and maintain compliance with out-of-the-box governance policies that

enforce good behavior across your environments.

● Compute security. Secure hosts, containers, and serverless workloads throughout the

application lifecycle. Detect and prevent risks by integrating vulnerability intelligence into

your integrated development environment (IDE), software configuration management

(SCM), and CI/CD workflows. Enforce machine learning-based runtime protection to

protect applications and workloads in real time.

● Network protection. Continuously monitor network activity for anomalous behavior,

enforce microservice-aware micro-segmentation, and implement industry-leading

firewall protection. Protect the network perimeter and the connectivity between

containers and hosts.

● Identity security. Monitor and leverage user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) across

your environments to detect and block malicious actions. Gain visibility into and enforce

governance p

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.

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/security-operations-automation

Attack communication traffic is usually hidden with various techniques and

tools, including:

● Encryption with SSL, SSH (Secure Shell), or some other custom or proprietary encryption

● Circumvention via proxies, remote access tools, or tunneling. In some instances, use of

cellular networks enables complete circumvention of the target network for attack C2 traffic.

● Port evasion using network anonymizers or port hopping to traverse over any available open

ports

● Fast Flux (or Dynamic DNS) to proxy through multiple infected endpoints or multiple,

ever-changing C2 servers to reroute traffic and make determination of the true destination

or attack source difficult

● DNS tunneling is used for C2 communications and data infiltration

 A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a system that collects, analyzes, and correlates security logs from multiple sources, such as endpoints, firewalls, servers, etc. A SIEM can provide a centralized and comprehensive view of the security posture of an organization, as well as detect and respond to threats. Configuring endpoints to forward logs to a SIEM is the recommended method for collecting security logs from multiple endpoints, as it reduces the network bandwidth and storage requirements, simplifies the log management process, and enables faster and more effective security analysis. Leveraging an EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) solution to request the logs from endpoints is not recommended, as it may cause performance issues on the endpoints, increase the network traffic, and create a dependency on the EDR solution. Connecting to the endpoints remotely and downloading the logs is not recommended, as it is a manual and time-consuming process, prone to errors and inconsistencies, and may expose the endpoints to unauthorized access. Building a script that pulls down the logs from all endpoints is not recommended, as it requires technical skills and maintenance, may not be compatible with different endpoint platforms, and may introduce security risks if the script is compromised or misconfigured. References:

• Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET) - Palo Alto Networks
• Fundamentals of Security Operations Center (SOC)
• 10 Palo Alto Networks PCCET Exam Practice Questions - CBT Nuggets

Sanctioned SaaS applications are those that are approved and supported by the organization’s IT department. They provide business benefits such as increased productivity, collaboration, and efficiency. They are fast to deploy because they do not require installation or maintenance on the user’s device. They require minimal cost because they are usually paid on a subscription or usage basis, and they do not incur hardware or software expenses. They are infinitely scalable because they can adjust to the changing needs and demands of the organization without affecting performance or availability12. References: 8 Types of SaaS Solutions You Must Know About in 2024, What is SaaS (Software as a Service)? | SaaS Types | CDW, Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician

In anti-malware, a false positive incorrectly identifies a legitimate file or application as malware. A false negative incorrectly identifies malware as a legitimate file or application. In intrusion detection, a false positive incorrectly identifies legitimate traffic as a threat, and a false negative incorrectly identifies a threat as legitimate traffic.

"The WildFire cloud-based malware analysis environment is a cyber threat prevention service that identifies unknown malware, zero-day exploits, and advanced persistent threats (APTs) through static and dynamic analysis in a scalable, virtual environment. WildFire automatically disseminates updated protections in near-real time to immediately prevent threats from spreading; this occurs without manual intervention"

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.

An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a sophisticated, sustained cyberattack in which an intruder establishes an undetected presence in a network in order to steal sensitive data over a prolonged period of time. APTs are usually carried out by well-funded, experienced teams of cybercriminals that target high-value organizations, such as governments, military, or corporations. APTs have the skills and resources to launch additional attacks, as they often use advanced techniques to evade detection, move laterally within the network, and establish multiple entry points and backdoors. APTs are not interested in causing immediate damage or disruption, but rather in achieving long-term goals, such as espionage, sabotage, or theft of intellectual property. Therefore, option B is the correct answer among the given choices123 References:

• 1: Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician - Palo Alto Networks
• 2: 10 Palo Alto Networks PCCET Exam Practice Questions - CBT Nuggets
• 3: What Is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)? - Cisco
• 4: What is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)? - CrowdStrike
• 5: What Is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)? - Kaspersky

Dynamic analysis is a method of malware analysis that executes the malware in a controlled environment and observes its behavior and effects. Dynamic analysis can reveal the malware’s network activity, file system changes, registry modifications, and other indicators of compromise. Dynamic analysis is performed by Palo Alto Networks WildFire, a cloud-based service that analyzes unknown files and links from various sources, such as email attachments, web downloads, and firewall traffic. WildFire uses a custom-built, evasion-resistant virtual environment to detonate the submissions and generate detailed reports and verdicts. WildFire can also share the threat intelligence with other Palo Alto Networks products and partners to prevent future attacks. References: WildFire Overview, WildFire Features, WildFire Dynamic Analysis

North-south refers to data packets that move in and out of the virtualized environment from the host network or a corresponding traditional data center. North-south traffic is secured by one or more physical form factor perimeter edge firewalls.

A worm is a type of malware that replicates itself to spread rapidly through a computer network. Unlike a virus, a worm does not need a host program or human interaction to infect other devices. A worm can consume network bandwidth, slow down the system performance, or deliver a malicious payload, such as ransomware or a backdoor123. References: Types of Malware & Malware Examples - Kaspersky, 10 types of malware + how to prevent malware from the start, Computer worm - Wikipedia

A worm replicates through the network while a virus replicates, not necessarily to spread through the network.

The IP stack adds source (sender) and destination (receiver) IP addresses to the TCP segment (which now is called an IP packet) and notifies the server operating system that it has an outgoing message ready to be sent across the network.

NAT stands for Network Address Translation, which is a process that allows devices on a private network to communicate with devices on a public network, such as the Internet. NAT translates the private IP addresses of the devices on the private network to public IP addresses that can be routed on the public network. This way, multiple devices on the private network can share a single public IP address and access the Internet. NAT also provides security benefits, as it hides the internal network structure and IP addresses from the outside world. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET), Fundamentals of Network Security, Network Address Translation (NAT)

The basic DNS record types are as follows:

● A (IPv4) or AAAA (IPv6) (Address): Maps a domain or subdomain to an IP address or

multiple IP addresses

● CNAME (Canonical Name): Maps a domain or subdomain to another hostname

● MX (Mail Exchanger): Specifies the hostname or hostnames of email servers for a domain

● PTR (Pointer): Points to a CNAME; commonly used for reverse DNS lookups that map an

IP address to a host in a domain or subdomain

● SOA (Start of Authority): Specifies authoritative information about a DNS zone such as

primary name server, email address of the domain administrator, and domain serial

number

● NS (Name Server): The NS record specifies aan authoritative name server for a given host.

● TXT (Text): Stores text-based information

The six pillars include:

1. Business (goals and outcomes)

2. People (who will perform the work)

3. Interfaces (external functions to help achieve goals)

4. Visibility (information needed to accomplish goals)

5. Technology (capabilities needed to provide visibility and enable people)

6. Processes (tactical steps required to execute on goals)

All elements must tie back to the business itself and the goals of the security operations

An encoded string is a common technique used by attackers to obfuscate their malicious code or data. By decoding the string, a security operations engineer can reveal the true nature and intent of the attacker, and potentially discover indicators of compromise (IOCs) such as IP addresses, domain names, file names, etc. Decoding the string can also help the engineer to determine the type and severity of the incident, and the appropriate response actions. Therefore, decoding the string and continuing the investigation is the best option among the given choices. Saving the string to a new file and running it in a sandbox may be risky, as it could execute the malicious code and cause further damage. Running the string against VirusTotal may not yield any useful results, as the string may not be recognized by any antivirus engines. Appending the string to the investigation notes but not altering it may not provide any additional insight into the incident, and may delay the response process. References:

• 1: SANS Digital Forensics and Incident Response Blog | Strings, Strings, Are Wonderful Things
• 2: 5 Minute Forensics: Decoding PowerShell Payloads - Tevora
• 3: Known plaintext analysis of encoded strings - SANS Institute
• 4: Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician - Palo Alto Networks
• 5: 10 Palo Alto Networks PCCET Exam Practice Questions - CBT Nuggets

Virtualization improves the availability of IT systems and resources by enabling features such as12:

• Resource optimization: Virtualization allows multiple virtual instances to share the same physical infrastructure, reducing hardware costs and increasing resource utilization.
• Scalability: Virtualization enables rapid provisioning and deprovisioning of virtual instances, allowing organizations to scale up or down their IT capacity according to demand.
• Disaster recovery: Virtualization facilitates backup and replication of virtual instances, allowing organizations to restore their IT systems and data in the event of a disaster or outage.
• Fault tolerance: Virtualization supports high availability and load balancing of virtual instances, ensuring that IT systems and services remain operational even if one or more virtual instances fail. References: Virtualization Benefits: How Virtualization Improves Efficiency and Security | VMware, Virtualization Security - A Complete Guide - CyberExperts.com

2G/2.5G: 2G connectivity remains a prevalent and viable IoT connectivity option due

to the low cost of 2G modules, relatively long battery life, and large installed base of

2G sensors and M2M applications.

â—‹ 3G: IoT devices with 3G modules use either Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

(W-CDMA) or Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+ and Advanced HSPA+) to

achieve data transfer rates of 384Kbps to 168Mbps.

â—‹ 4G/Long-Term Evolution (LTE): 4G/LTE networks enable real-time IoT use cases, such

as autonomous vehicles, with 4G LTE Advanced Pro delivering speeds in excess of

3Gbps and less than 2 milliseconds of latency.

â—‹ 5G: 5G cellular technology provides significant enhancements compared to 4G/LTE

networks and is backed by ultra-low latency, massive connectivity and scalability for

IoT devices, more efficient use of the licensed spectrum, and network slicing for

application traffic prioritization.

 A routed protocol is a protocol by which data can be routed. It provides appropriate addressing information in its internet layer or network layer to allow a packet to be forwarded from one network to another network. Examples of routed protocols are the Internet Protocol (IP) and Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX). IP is the most widely used routed protocol on the Internet and other networks. It assigns a unique logical address to each device and enables data to be fragmented, reassembled, and routed across multiple networks. References:

• Routing v/s Routed Protocols in Computer Network
• Routing protocol - Wikipedia
• CCNA Certification: Routed Protocols vs Routing Protocols
• What is the difference between Routing Protocols and Routed Protocols

802.11ax, also known as Wi-Fi 6, is an internet of things (IoT) connectivity technology that operates on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, as well as all bands between 1 and 6GHz when they become available for 802.11 use, at ranges up to 11 Gbit/s. 802.11ax is designed to improve the performance, efficiency, and capacity of wireless networks, especially in high-density environments such as smart homes, smart cities, and industrial IoT. 802.11ax uses various techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO), target wake time (TWT), and 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) to achieve higher data rates, lower latency, longer battery life, and reduced interference for IoT devices. References:

•Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) - Palo Alto Networks

•What is Wi-Fi 6? | Wi-Fi 6 Features and Benefits | Cisco

•What is Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)? - Definition from WhatIs.com

A static routing protocol requires that routes be created and updated manually on a router or other network device. If a static route is down, traffic can’t be automatically rerouted unless an alternate route has been configured. Also, if the route is congested, traffic can’t be automatically rerouted over the less congested alternate route. Static routing is practical only in very small networks or for very limited, special-case routing scenarios (for example, a destination that’s used as a backup route or is reachable only via a single router). However, static routing has low bandwidth requirements (routing information isn’t broadcast across the network) and some built-in security (users can route only to destinations that are specified in statically defined routes).

Originally designed as a tool to assist organizations with compliance and industry-specific regulations, security information and event management (SIEM) is a technology that has been around for almost two decades

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.

Elastic scalability is the feature of the VM-Series firewalls that allows them to fully integrate into the DevOps workflows and CI/CD pipelines without slowing the pace of business. Elastic scalability means that the VM-Series firewalls can automatically adjust their capacity and performance based on the changing demand and workload of the applications they protect. This enables the VM-Series firewalls to provide consistent and optimal security across multiple cloud environments, while also reducing operational costs and complexity. Elastic scalability also allows the VM-Series firewalls to seamlessly integrate with automation and orchestration tools, such as Terraform, Ansible, and AWS CloudFormation, that are commonly used in DevOps processes. This way, the VM-Series firewalls can be deployed and managed as part of the application development lifecycle and CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that security is always aligned with the business needs and objectives. References: VM-Series Virtual Next-Generation Firewall - Palo Alto Networks, Securing Multi-Cloud Environments with VM-Series Virtual Firewalls, Terraform Modules for Palo Alto Networks VM-Series on AWS.

The Anthem data breach of 2015 was caused by a phishing scheme that captured a database administrator’s password. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), hackers sent phishing emails to an Anthem subsidiary. At least one employee responded. Attackers were able to plant malware on the company’s system and gain remote access to confidential information1. The breach exposed the electronic protected health information of almost 79 million people, including names, Social Security numbers, medical identification numbers, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses, and employment information2. References:

• Anthem Pays OCR $16 Million in Record HIPAA Settlement Following Largest U.S. Health Data Breach
• How Anthem Data Breach Exposed Personnel Records - IDStrong

CaaS, or Containers-as-a-Service, is a cloud service that allows users to manage and deploy applications using containers and clusters. CaaS can be situated between IaaS and PaaS in the spread of cloud computing services, based on how much is managed by the vendor. IaaS, or Infrastructure-as-a-Service, provides the lowest level of abstraction, where users have to manage the servers, storage, network, and operating system. PaaS, or Platform-as-a-Service, provides a higher level of abstraction, where users only have to manage the application code and data. FaaS, or Function-as-a-Service, provides the highest level of abstraction, where users only have to manage the functions or logic of the application. CaaS falls in between IaaS and PaaS, as it provides users with more control over the container orchestration and configuration than PaaS, but also simplifies the infrastructure management and scaling than IaaS123. References:

• What is CaaS? from Red Hat
• Containers as a Service from Atlassian
• Container as a Service (CaaS) from GeeksforGeeks

 A switch is a network device that connects multiple devices on a local area network (LAN) and forwards data packets between them. A switch can be identified by its icon, which is a rectangle with four curved lines on each side. In the attached network diagram, device D is the switch, as it matches the icon and connects three computers to device A, which is another network device. References:

• [What is a Network Switch and How Does it Work?]
• [Network Diagram Symbols and Icons | Lucidchart]