Palo Alto Networks NetSec-Generalist Palo Alto Networks Network Security Generalist Exam Practice Test

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Total 60 questions
Question 1

Which Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) solution is required to configure and enable Advanced DNS Security?



Answer : C

Advanced DNS Security is a Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) solution that protects against DNS-based threats such as command-and-control (C2) communications, domain generation algorithms (DGAs), and DNS tunneling.

To enable Advanced DNS Security, the Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) license is required, as it includes:

Real-time threat analysis of DNS queries

Protection against newly registered and malicious domains

Detection and blocking of DNS-based attacks

Why Advanced Threat Prevention is the Correct Answer?

ATP extends beyond traditional DNS filtering by using machine learning to analyze DNS traffic dynamically.

Blocks DNS requests to malicious domains in real-time.

Works in combination with WildFire and Threat Intelligence Cloud to provide up-to-date protection.

Other Answer Choices Analysis

(A) Advanced WildFire -- Provides sandboxing for malware detection, not DNS security.

(B) Enterprise SaaS Security -- Focuses on SaaS application security, not DNS-based threats.

(D) Advanced URL Filtering -- Controls web access, but does not analyze DNS traffic.

Reference and Justification:

Threat Prevention & WildFire -- Advanced Threat Prevention includes DNS Security as a key feature.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Ensures DNS requests are not blindly trusted but verified against threat intelligence.

Thus, Advanced Threat Prevention (C) is the correct answer, as it is required to enable Advanced DNS Security.


Question 2

How are content updates downloaded and installed for Cloud NGFWs?



Answer : C

Cloud NGFWs receive content updates automatically as part of cloud-native security services. These updates include:

Threat prevention updates (IPS, malware signatures).

App-ID updates to maintain accurate application identification.

WildFire updates for new malware detection.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect?

A . Through the management console

The management console provides visibility and controls, but updates are not manually downloaded from here---they are pushed automatically.

B . Through Panorama

Panorama can manage policies and configurations, but Cloud NGFW updates are delivered automatically by Palo Alto Networks.

D . From the Customer Support Portal

Customer Support Portal provides manual update downloads for on-prem firewalls, but Cloud NGFW updates are handled automatically.

Reference to Firewall Deployment and Security Features:

Firewall Deployment -- Cloud NGFW receives automatic threat and application updates.

Security Policies -- Ensures updates are always in sync with the latest threat intelligence.

VPN Configurations -- Ensures VPN security mechanisms stay updated.

Threat Prevention -- Maintains continuous security enforcement without requiring manual updates.

WildFire Integration -- Cloud NGFWs automatically receive new malware signatures from WildFire.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Ensures continuous enforcement of Zero Trust policies with up-to-date security intelligence.

Thus, the correct answer is: C. Automatically


Question 3

A company currently uses Prisma Access for its mobile users. A use case is discovered in which mobile users will need to access an internal site, but there is no existing network communication between the mobile users and the internal site.

Which Prisma Access functionality needs to be deployed to enable routing between the mobile users and the internal site?



Answer : B

Prisma Access provides secure remote access for mobile users, but by default, mobile users cannot access internal sites unless explicitly configured.

How Service Connection Enables Routing Between Mobile Users and Internal Sites:

Service Connection establishes a secure tunnel between Prisma Access and the internal network.

Allows direct routing between mobile users and internal applications.

Enables access without requiring additional VPN connections.

Ensures that Prisma Access can securely route traffic between mobile users and the internal site.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect?

A . Interconnect license

Interconnect provides higher bandwidth connections between Prisma Access and multiple regions, but it does not create routing to internal networks.

C . Autonomous Digital Experience Manager (ADEM)

ADEM is used for network experience monitoring, not for routing or connectivity.

D . Security Processing Node

Security processing nodes handle threat inspection, but they do not create routing connections between Prisma Access and internal networks.

Reference to Firewall Deployment and Security Features:

Firewall Deployment -- Service connections extend internal network access.

Security Policies -- Enforces policies on traffic between mobile users and internal resources.

VPN Configurations -- Ensures secure IPsec/GRE tunnels between Prisma Access and on-prem networks.

Threat Prevention -- Inspects mobile-to-internal traffic for threats.

WildFire Integration -- Scans transferred files between mobile users and internal sites.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Ensures secure access control for mobile users accessing internal applications.

Thus, the correct answer is: B. Service connection


Question 4

Which two cloud deployment high availability (HA) options would cause a firewall administrator to use Cloud NGFW? (Choose two.)



Answer : A, D

Cloud high availability (HA) strategies differ from traditional HA deployments in physical firewalls. Cloud NGFW provides cloud-native high availability options that align with cloud architectures, particularly in AWS and Azure environments.

1. Automated Autoscaling ( Correct)

Cloud NGFW automatically scales up or down based on traffic demand and load conditions.

This ensures consistent security enforcement without manual intervention.

Auto-scaling is managed by cloud-native services (AWS Auto Scaling, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, etc.).

2. Deployed with Load Balancers ( Correct)

Cloud NGFW can be integrated with cloud-native load balancers (AWS Elastic Load Balancing, Azure Load Balancer) to distribute traffic.

This helps ensure high availability and failover in case of firewall instance failures.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect?

B . Terraform to automate HA

Terraform automates infrastructure provisioning, but it does not inherently provide HA.

It helps automate HA configuration, but does not directly provide HA functionality.

C . Dedicated vNIC for HA

Cloud NGFW does not use dedicated vNICs for HA---it relies on cloud-native failover mechanisms.

Dedicated vNICs are more relevant for on-prem HA deployments.

Reference to Firewall Deployment and Security Features:

Firewall Deployment -- Cloud NGFW supports HA through autoscaling and load balancing.

Security Policies -- Ensures policies remain enforced across dynamically scaled instances.

VPN Configurations -- Works with IPsec VPNs in cloud deployments.

Threat Prevention -- Maintains security inspection even during autoscaling events.

WildFire Integration -- Ensures malware inspection is consistently available.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Enforces Zero Trust security at scale.

Thus, the correct answers are: A . Automated autoscaling D . Deployed with load balancers


Question 5

A company uses Prisma Access to provide secure connectivity for mobile users to access its corporate-sanctioned Google Workspace and wants to block access to all unsanctioned Google Workspace environments.

What would an administrator configure in the snippet to achieve this goal?



Answer : B

A company using Prisma Access to secure Google Workspace access while blocking unsanctioned Google tenants must implement Tenant Restrictions.

Why are Tenant Restrictions the Right Choice?

Restricts Google Workspace Access to Approved Tenants

Tenant restrictions allow only authorized Google Workspace tenants (e.g., the company's official domain) and block access to personal or unauthorized instances.

Prevents Data Exfiltration & Shadow IT Risks

Without tenant restrictions, users could log into personal Google accounts and transfer corporate data to external environments.

Works with Prisma Access Security Policies

Prisma Access enforces tenant restrictions at the cloud level, ensuring compliance without requiring local device policies.

Other Answer Choices Analysis

(A) Dynamic Address Groups

Used to group IPs dynamically based on tags but does not control SaaS tenant access.

(C) Dynamic User Groups

Used for role-based access control (RBAC), not for restricting Google Workspace tenants.

(D) URL Category

Can filter web categories, but cannot differentiate between different Google Workspace tenants.

Reference and Justification:

Firewall Deployment & Security Policies -- Tenant restrictions enforce Google Workspace access policies.

Threat Prevention & WildFire -- Prevents data exfiltration via unauthorized Google accounts.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Ensures only authorized cloud tenants are accessible.

Thus, Tenant Restrictions (B) is the correct answer, as it effectively blocks access to unsanctioned Google Workspace environments while allowing corporate-approved tenants.


Question 6

A hospital system allows mobile medical imaging trailers to connect directly to the internal network of its various campuses. The network security team is concerned about this direct connection and wants to begin implementing a Zero Trust approach in the flat network.

Which solution provides cost-effective network segmentation and security enforcement in this scenario?



Answer : C

In a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), network segmentation is critical to prevent unauthorized lateral movement within a flat network. Since the hospital system allows mobile medical imaging trailers to connect directly to its internal network, this poses a significant security risk, as these trailers may introduce malware, vulnerabilities, or unauthorized access to sensitive medical data.

The most cost-effective and practical solution in this scenario is:

Creating separate security zones for the imaging trailers.

Applying access control and inspection policies via the hospital's existing core firewalls instead of deploying new hardware.

Implementing strict policy enforcement to ensure that only authorized communication occurs between the trailers and the hospital's network.

Why Separate Zones with Enforcement is the Best Solution?

Network Segmentation for Zero Trust

By placing the medical imaging trailers in their own firewall-enforced zone, they are isolated from the main hospital network.

This reduces attack surface and prevents an infected trailer from spreading malware to critical hospital systems.

Granular security policies ensure only necessary communications occur between zones.

Cost-Effective Approach

Uses existing core firewalls instead of deploying costly additional edge firewalls at every campus.

Reduces complexity by leveraging the current security infrastructure.

Visibility & Security Enforcement

The firewall enforces security policies, such as allowing only medical imaging protocols while blocking unauthorized traffic.

Integration with Threat Prevention and WildFire ensures that malicious files or traffic anomalies are detected.

Logging and monitoring via Panorama helps the security team track and respond to threats effectively.

Other Answer Choices Analysis

(A) Deploy edge firewalls at each campus entry point

This is an expensive approach, requiring multiple hardware firewalls at every hospital location.

While effective, it is not the most cost-efficient solution when existing core firewalls can enforce the necessary segmentation and policies.

(B) Manually inspect large images like holograms and MRIs

This does not align with Zero Trust principles.

Manual inspection is impractical, as it slows down medical workflows.

Threats do not depend on image size; malware can be embedded in small and large files alike.

(D) Configure access control lists (ACLs) on core switches

ACLs are limited in security enforcement, as they operate at Layer 3/4 and do not provide deep inspection (e.g., malware scanning, user authentication, or Zero Trust enforcement).

Firewalls offer application-layer visibility, which ACLs on switches cannot provide.

Switches do not log and analyze threats like firewalls do.

Reference and Justification:

Firewall Deployment -- Firewall-enforced network segmentation is a key practice in Zero Trust.

Security Policies -- Granular policies ensure medical imaging traffic is controlled and monitored.

VPN Configurations -- If remote trailers are involved, secure VPN access can be enforced within the zones.

Threat Prevention & WildFire -- Firewalls can scan imaging files (e.g., DICOM images) for malware.

Panorama -- Centralized visibility into all traffic between hospital zones and trailers.

Zero Trust Architectures -- This solution follows Zero Trust principles by segmenting untrusted devices and enforcing least privilege access.

Thus, Configuring separate zones (C) is the correct answer, as it provides cost-effective segmentation, Zero Trust enforcement, and security visibility using existing firewall infrastructure.


Question 7

In Prisma SD-WAN. what is the recommended initial action when VoIP traffic experiences high latency and packet loss during business hours?



Answer : B

VoIP (Voice over IP) traffic is highly sensitive to network conditions, including latency, jitter, and packet loss. In Prisma SD-WAN, maintaining optimal VoIP quality requires dynamic path selection and real-time monitoring of network conditions.

Recommended Initial Action: Monitoring Real-Time Path Performance Metrics

When VoIP traffic experiences high latency and packet loss during business hours, the first step is to analyze real-time path performance metrics in Prisma SD-WAN's monitoring dashboard.

Why Real-Time Monitoring is Crucial?

Identifies the Affected Links -- Prisma SD-WAN continuously monitors path quality metrics for each available WAN link (e.g., MPLS, broadband, LTE).

Provides Insights on Congestion -- Real-time monitoring helps determine whether the issue is caused by congestion, ISP problems, or packet drops.

Aids in Dynamic Path Selection -- Prisma SD-WAN can automatically switch to a better-performing path based on live telemetry data.

Avoids Unnecessary Configuration Changes -- Without accurate diagnostics, changing VPN gateways or link tags may not address the root cause.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect?

A . Configure a new VPN gateway connection.

Incorrect, because the issue is VoIP performance degradation due to latency and packet loss, not a VPN gateway failure.

A new VPN connection won't resolve ongoing traffic congestion in the current SD-WAN path.

C . Add new link tags to existing interfaces.

Incorrect, because adding new link tags does not immediately resolve latency and packet loss issues.

Link tags help classify WAN links for application-aware routing, but the immediate priority is to analyze performance metrics first.

D . Disable the most recently created path quality.

Incorrect, because disabling a path quality profile without understanding the cause could negatively impact failover and traffic steering policies.

Instead, monitoring real-time metrics first ensures the right corrective action is taken.

Reference to Firewall Deployment and Security Features:

Firewall Deployment -- Prisma SD-WAN is deployed alongside Palo Alto firewalls for network security and traffic steering.

Security Policies -- Ensures VoIP traffic is prioritized with QoS and traffic shaping policies.

VPN Configurations -- Uses IPsec tunnels and Dynamic Path Selection (DPS) for optimal WAN performance.

Threat Prevention -- Detects and mitigates network-based attacks impacting VoIP performance.

WildFire Integration -- Not directly related but helps detect malicious traffic within VoIP signaling.

Panorama -- Centralized logging and monitoring of SD-WAN path quality metrics across multiple locations.

Zero Trust Architectures -- Enforces identity-based access controls for secure VoIP communications.

Thus, the correct answer is: B. Monitor real-time path performance metrics.


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Total 60 questions