Pass the Paloalto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Associate Practitioner Questions and answers with CertsForce

Tunneling is a method of transporting data across a network using protocols that are not supported by that network. Tunneling works by encapsulating packets: wrapping packets inside of other packets. Tunneling within commonly used services is a technique that uses file sharing or an instant messenger client such as Meebo running over HTTP to bypass firewalls or other network restrictions. The data packets are encapsulated within HTTP packets and sent as normal web traffic. This way, the data packets can reach their destination without being blocked or detected by the network. References: What is tunneling? | Tunneling in networking | Cloudflare, What Is Network Tunneling & How Is It Used? | Traefik Labs, networking - What is HTTP tunneling? - Stack Overflow

A directory service is a database that contains information about users, resources, and services in a network.

Workload security in a Cloud Native Security Platform (CNSP) is designed to secure containers, VMs, and serverless functions throughout the entire application lifecycle — from development to runtime — by detecting and blocking vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and runtime threats.

SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) differs from SIEM by adding automated incident response and workflow orchestration to the detection and alerting capabilities found in SIEM. This enables faster and more efficient handling of security incidents.

Account discovery is a technique in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the Discovery tactic. It involves adversaries attempting to identify user accounts on a system or network.

Credential access, lateral movement, and resource development are tactics — high-level objectives an attacker is trying to achieve.

Advanced Threat Prevention is the Palo Alto Networks solution that has replaced legacy Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). It offers inline, ML-powered threat detection and evasion-resistant inspection to block sophisticated threats in real time, going beyond traditional signature-based IPS.

A Host-Based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) is installed directly on an endpoint device (such as a server or workstation) and monitors local system activity, including processes, file access, and system calls, to detect and prevent malicious behavior.

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.

 Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR is an extended detection and response platform that provides endpoint protection, threat detection, and incident response capabilities. When an endpoint is asked to run an executable, Cortex XDR does the following steps1:

First, it sends the executable to WildFire, a cloud-based malware analysis and prevention service, to determine if it is malicious or benign. WildFire uses static and dynamic analysis, machine learning, and threat intelligence to analyze the executable and provide a verdict in seconds2.

Next, it checks the execution policy, which is a set of rules that define what actions are allowed or blocked on the endpoint. The execution policy can be configured by the administrator to enforce granular control over the endpoint behavior3.

Then, it runs a static analysis, which is a technique that examines the executable without executing it. Static analysis can identify malicious indicators, such as file signatures, hashes, strings, and embedded resources4.

Finally, it runs a dynamic analysis, which is a technique that executes the executable in a sandboxed environment and monitors its behavior. Dynamic analysis can detect malicious activities, such as network connections, registry changes, file modifications, and process injections4.

Cortex XDR Endpoint Protection Overview

WildFire Overview

[Execution Policy]

[Static and Dynamic Analysis]

Cortex XDR is an endpoint tool or agent that can enact behavior-based protection. Behavior-based protection is a method of detecting and blocking malicious activities based on the actions or potential actions of an object, such as a file, a process, or a network connection. Behavior-based protection can identify and stop threats that are unknown or evade traditional signature-based detection, by analyzing the object’s behavior for suspicious or abnormal patterns. Cortex XDR is a comprehensive solution that provides behavior-based protection for endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. Cortex XDR uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to continuously monitor and analyze data from multiple sources, such as logs, events, alerts, and telemetry. Cortex XDR can detect and prevent advanced attacks, such as ransomware, fileless malware, zero-day exploits, and lateral movement, by applying behavioral blocking and containment rules. Cortex XDR can also perform root cause analysis, threat hunting, and incident response, to help organizations reduce the impact and duration of security incidents. References:

Cortex XDR - Palo Alto Networks

Behavioral blocking and containment | Microsoft Learn

Behaviour Based Endpoint Protection | Signature-Based Security - Xcitium

The 12 Best Endpoint Security Software Solutions and Tools [2024]