Paloalto Networks NetSec-Pro Palo Alto Networks Network Security Professional Exam Practice Test

An ALG is designed toinspect and modify the payloadof application-layer protocols (like SIP, FTP, etc.) to manage dynamic port allocations and session information.

“Application Layer Gateways (ALGs) inspect the payload of certain protocols to dynamically manage sessions that use dynamic port assignments. By modifying payloads, the ALG ensures that NAT and security policies are correctly applied.”

(Source: ALG Support)

IoT SecurityusesMAC address,device manufacturer, andOS informationtoidentify and classify devicesvia Device-ID.

“IoT Security uses passive network traffic analysis to fingerprint devices based on the MAC address, manufacturer, and operating system to ensure accurate classification.”

(Source: IoT Security Device-ID and Classification)

These attributes provide a robust, manufacturer-agnostic method to fingerprint IoT devices.

SSL Inbound Inspectionallows the firewall to decrypt incoming encrypted traffic to internal servers (e.g., web servers) by acting as aman-in-the-middle (MITM). The firewall uses the private key of the server to decrypt the session and apply security policies before re-encrypting the traffic.

“SSL Inbound Inspection requires you to import the server’s private key and certificate into the firewall. The firewall then acts as a man-in-the-middle (MITM) to decrypt inbound sessions from external clients to internal servers for inspection.”

(Source: SSL Inbound Inspection)

Client-based VPNsolutions like GlobalProtect provide full coverage for the mobile workforce by extending the enterprise security stack to remote endpoints. It establishes a secure tunnel, allowing consistent security policies across the enterprise perimeter and the mobile workforce.

“GlobalProtect is a client-based VPN that provides secure, consistent protection for mobile users by extending the security capabilities of Prisma Access to remote endpoints, covering all network protocols.”

(Source: GlobalProtect Admin Guide)

To inspect SaaS app traffic (often encrypted), you must configure:

SSL Forward Proxy

“The SSL Forward Proxy decryption profile enables the firewall to decrypt outbound SSL traffic, essential for visibility into SaaS app usage.”

(Source: SSL Forward Proxy Overview)

Validate certificates

“Validating and deploying the appropriate root and intermediate CA certificates is critical for establishing trust and preventing SSL errors during decryption.”

(Source: Certificate Deployment and Validation)

Without these steps, SaaS decryption and policy enforcement would be incomplete.

To create custom Prisma Access reports withinSCM, you first configure adashboardthat aggregates the relevant logs and analytics. This allows you to define the data points you want to include.

“Dashboards in SCM can be customized to include Prisma Access data sources, enabling you to create and generate reports that meet specific business and security requirements.”

(Source: SCM Dashboards and Reporting)

Once configured, you can export the dashboard as acustom report.

“Use the dashboard’s data visualization to create custom reports for Prisma Access, which can be exported as PDFs for distribution.”

(Source: SCM Report Customization)

The best practice for Prisma Access data plane upgrades involvesbacking up configurations, scheduling upgrades during off-peak hours, and using a phased approachto minimize disruption and maintain continuity. As per the Palo Alto Networks documentation:

“To minimize disruptions, it is recommended to perform Prisma Access upgrades during non-business hours and in a phased manner, starting with less critical sites to validate the process before moving to critical locations. Backup configurations and validate the system’s readiness to avoid data loss and maintain service continuity.”

(Source: Prisma Access Best Practices)

Prisma Access for secure remote access

“Prisma Access extends consistent security and optimized connectivity to branch locations, enabling secure access for mobile and branch users.”

(Source: Prisma Access Overview)

Centralized management for consistent policy enforcement

“Centralized management using Strata Cloud Manager or Panorama ensures security policies and updates are uniformly applied across distributed locations, preventing policy drift and security gaps.”

(Source: Strata Cloud Manager Best Practices)

These two practices are foundational for modern, distributed enterprise networks to maintain security posture and performance.

A centralized certificate automation approach reduces management overhead and security risks by standardizing processes, automating renewals, and continuously monitoring the certificate lifecycle.

“Implementing a centralized certificate management approach with automation and continuous monitoring ensures optimal security while reducing operational complexity in hybrid environments.”

(Source: Best Practices for Certificate Management)

Palo Alto Networks requires upgrading to thenext major feature releasebefore moving to newer releases. This ensures stability and compatibility.

“When upgrading across multiple major PAN-OS releases, you must upgrade to each intermediate major feature release. Skipping major releases is not supported.”

(Source: Upgrade Considerations)

For PAN-OS 9.1 → 11.2, the proper path is:

9.1 → 10.0 → 11.2

GlobalProtect logs

These logs provide detailed insights into the user’s connectivity, tunnel status, and authentication events.

“GlobalProtect logs include detailed information about connection establishment, tunnel negotiation, and any errors that can prevent mobile users from accessing applications.”

(Source: GlobalProtect Troubleshooting)

Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM)

ADEM helps visualize end-to-end performance and identifies network issues affecting SaaS app access for mobile users.

“ADEM provides real-time and historical visibility into user experience, enabling quick identification and resolution of connectivity or performance issues for SaaS applications.”

(Source: ADEM for Prisma Access)

To connect aremote networkto Prisma Access via Strata Cloud Manager (SCM), the remote network requires anIPSec termination node. This acts as the VPN endpoint, ensuring secure connectivity between branch locations and Prisma Access.

“To onboard a remote network, configure the IPSec termination node on the customer’s premises. This VPN endpoint establishes the secure tunnel to Prisma Access for traffic backhauling.”

(Source: Onboard Remote Networks)

Key takeaway:

The IPSec termination node is fundamental for secure, encrypted connectivity.

Applications and threats

Panorama can push application and threat signature updates to managed firewalls, ensuring consistent application and threat visibility.

“Panorama uses dynamic updates to distribute the latest application and threat signature packs to all managed firewalls.”

(Source: Manage Content Updates in Panorama)

WildFire

Panorama also distributes WildFire signature updates to firewalls for real-time malware detection.

“WildFire updates provide the latest malware signatures to enhance detection and prevention, and can be deployed to all managed firewalls via Panorama.”

(Source: WildFire and Dynamic Updates)

For large lists of specific URLs, creating acustom URL categoryand importing the list is the most efficient approach for granular URL filtering.

“You can create custom URL categories to define specific URLs or patterns and enforce policies for these categories. This is the most efficient way to handle large sets of URLs.”

(Source: Custom URL Categories)

This approach saves time compared to manual rule creation or using generic application filters.

Protecting againstmaliciousandmisconfigured domainsrequires two critical services:

Advanced Threat Prevention

Provides signature-based and advanced analysis to identify threats, including DNS-based attacks.

“Advanced Threat Prevention enables the NGFW to detect and prevent exploits and malware-based communications, including those leveraging DNS.”

(Source: Advanced Threat Prevention)

Advanced DNS Security

Specifically designed to detect and sinkhole malicious and misconfigured DNS queries.

“DNS Security uses real-time intelligence to block DNS-based threats, protect against data exfiltration, and automatically sinkhole suspicious domain lookups.”

(Source: DNS Security)

Bycombiningthese services in security policies, NGFWs ensure robust protection against domain-based threats and misconfigurations.

To fully leverageinline cloud analysisin Advanced Threat Prevention, security profiles (e.g., anti-spyware) must beupdated or newly createdto enable local deep learning and inline cloud analysis models.

“To activate inline cloud analysis, update your Anti-Spyware profile to enable advanced inline detection engines, including deep learning-based models and cloud-delivered signatures.”

(Source: Inline Cloud Analysis and Deep Learning)

This ensuresreal-time protectionfrom sophisticated threats beyond static signatures.

For IoT Security toaccurately classify and monitorIoT devices, the following logs must be forwarded to Strata Logging Service:

Enhanced application logs– provide detailed application usage and behaviors, essential for profiling device types and roles.

“Enhanced Application logs provide additional context on IoT device behavior and usage patterns, and must be forwarded to Strata Logging Service for IoT Security to build accurate Device-ID profiles.”

(Source: IoT Security Logging Requirements)

Threat logs– essential for detecting suspicious or malicious activities by IoT devices.

“Threat logs are critical for identifying potential exploits or suspicious activities involving IoT devices and are required for accurate threat visibility within IoT Security.”

(Source: IoT Security Logs)

These logs collectively ensure accurate device classification and real-time threat visibility.

When implementing SSL Forward Proxy decryption for outbound traffic, two key challenges that must be evaluated are:

Incomplete certificate chains: This occurs when the firewall cannot validate the entire certificate chain for a site, which may cause decryption failures.

Certificate pinning: Applications like banking apps may use certificate pinning to prevent MITM (man-in-the-middle) attacks, and these applications will break if SSL Forward Proxy is used.

“When decrypting outbound SSL traffic, you must consider incomplete certificate chains, which can cause decryption to fail if the firewall cannot validate the entire chain. Also, be aware of certificate pinning in applications that prevents decryption by rejecting forged certificates.”

(Source: Palo Alto Networks Decryption Concepts)