Palo Alto Networks PSE Strata Exam Dumps & Practice Test Questions 

Question 1:

What is the key benefit of Palo Alto Networks' Single Pass Parallel Processing (SP3) architecture?

A. It only provides minor performance improvements
B. It enables adding new functionalities to existing hardware
C. It eliminates the need for more than one processor
D. It allows integration of new hardware devices into existing systems

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

Palo Alto Networks' Single Pass Parallel Processing (SP3) architecture is a fundamental innovation behind the performance and scalability of their next-generation firewalls. This architecture is designed to optimize how security functions are executed on traffic, ensuring that multiple tasks are completed efficiently without requiring redundant processing. The standout advantage of SP3 is that it enables Palo Alto Networks to add new security capabilities to their existing hardware infrastructure—making the system extensible without necessitating costly hardware replacements.

Here's how it works: In traditional firewall architectures, different security functions—such as antivirus scanning, intrusion prevention, URL filtering, and traffic classification—are often applied in multiple passes, which increases latency and reduces performance. SP3, on the other hand, processes traffic through a single unified engine, applying all necessary security checks in one pass. This dramatically reduces overhead and improves throughput.

Moreover, this design is modular and scalable. As new security threats emerge and new protection techniques are developed, Palo Alto Networks can deploy software updates that integrate seamlessly with the existing SP3 engine. This adaptability ensures long-term value for customers, as they don’t need to buy new hardware every time a new threat vector arises or a new feature is added.

Let’s examine why the other options are incorrect:

• A is incorrect because SP3 provides much more than just minor performance gains—it allows for architectural scalability, future-proofing, and enhanced threat protection.

• C is misleading. While SP3 optimizes processing, it doesn’t mean only one processor is involved. The architecture coordinates multiple processes efficiently but doesn’t limit hardware to a single CPU.

• D is inaccurate. SP3 doesn’t facilitate adding new hardware devices to a firewall. Instead, it enables new software functions to run on existing hardware.

In summary, the core benefit of SP3 is its ability to enhance security capability without replacing existing infrastructure. It allows Palo Alto Networks to continuously evolve its feature set while maintaining high performance, making it a powerful and cost-effective solution for enterprises seeking long-term security resilience.

Question 2:

Which security feature on a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is specifically designed to detect and prevent brute force attacks?

A. Zone Protection Profile
B. URL Filtering Profile
C. Vulnerability Protection Profile
D. Anti-Spyware Profile

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Brute force attacks are a common method attackers use to gain unauthorized access to systems by repeatedly guessing login credentials. In response, Zone Protection Profiles on Palo Alto Networks' Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) are specifically designed to defend against such attacks at the network level. This profile acts as a first line of defense, analyzing traffic entering a specific zone (e.g., internet-facing zone) and applying protections to identify and mitigate aggressive traffic behaviors, including brute force attempts.

Zone Protection Profiles include a suite of powerful features:

1. Flood Protection: One of the most relevant features against brute force attacks, flood protection limits the rate of incoming connection attempts. For instance, if a host continuously sends login requests, exceeding a predefined threshold, the system identifies it as suspicious and can throttle or block its traffic. This stops brute force attempts before they reach internal resources.

2. DoS Protection: Brute force attacks can resemble Denial of Service (DoS) attacks because they involve repetitive actions that can exhaust server resources. The Zone Protection Profile incorporates DoS protections that detect and respond to such patterns.

3. Packet-Based Inspection: The firewall inspects traffic in real time and looks for signature patterns related to brute force behaviors, such as frequent failed login attempts or session floods, ensuring proactive intervention.

Why the other profiles aren’t suitable for this use case:

• B. URL Filtering Profile is designed to manage and restrict user access to websites based on categories or custom lists. It does not focus on traffic patterns or login attempts and thus doesn't help against brute force threats.

• C. Vulnerability Protection Profile helps in identifying and blocking attempts to exploit software vulnerabilities. It’s highly effective against exploit-based intrusions, but not for detecting brute force login attempts.

• D. Anti-Spyware Profile focuses on detecting and blocking known spyware and malicious software. While important for endpoint security, it doesn't monitor for brute force behaviors on the network layer.

In conclusion, the Zone Protection Profile is the NGFW feature best suited for combating brute force attacks. It uses rate-limiting, flood control, and DoS protections to monitor and act upon suspicious connection patterns—serving as an essential tool for defending against automated credential-guessing attempts.

Question 3:

In a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), which internal engine is responsible for tasks such as acting as a file proxy, scanning for viruses and spyware, performing vulnerability assessments, and decoding HTTP traffic to enforce URL filtering policies?

A. First Packet Processor
B. Stream-based Signature Engine
C. SIA (Scan It All) Processing Engine
D. Security Processing Engine

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The SIA (Scan It All) Processing Engine is a critical component in Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) that delivers deep, unified threat inspection across multiple layers of network traffic. Its primary role is to act as a centralized engine for advanced security services including file inspection, malware detection, vulnerability analysis, and web traffic filtering.

This engine functions as a multi-layer inspection tool that eliminates the need for separate, isolated processes to address individual threats. Instead, the SIA engine integrates various functionalities into a single pipeline, streamlining performance and reducing latency while delivering robust security. For instance, when a file is transferred across the network, the SIA engine can act as a file proxy, pausing transmission until the file has been scanned for malware and policy compliance.

The SIA engine also provides virus and spyware scanning, using up-to-date signature databases and behavioral analysis to detect malicious content. In addition, it performs vulnerability scanning by analyzing traffic for known exploits and weaknesses in protocols or applications. This is vital for early threat detection and prevention.

Another key function is HTTP decoding for URL filtering, which allows the engine to inspect and parse web requests in detail. It can apply web access policies, detect access to malicious or restricted sites, and enforce compliance with acceptable use policies.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• A. First Packet Processor – This module handles initial traffic classification and routing decisions. While essential for performance, it lacks the depth of threat analysis performed by the SIA engine.

• B. Stream-based Signature Engine – This component specializes in pattern recognition to detect known threats in real-time data streams, but it doesn't perform the extensive file scanning, vulnerability analysis, or HTTP decoding needed for comprehensive protection.

• D. Security Processing Engine – This is a more generic term referring to the overall security operations of the firewall. It doesn’t denote a specific engine with integrated scanning and filtering capabilities like SIA.

In conclusion, the SIA (Scan It All) Processing Engine is the most accurate answer because it encompasses all the specified functions—file proxying, malware scanning, vulnerability detection, and web traffic analysis—making it essential for holistic threat defense in NGFW architectures.

Question 4:

A business is searching for a solution to analyze firewall logs for signs of threats. They need a feature that can automatically connect related security events, detect compromised systems, and highlight potential risks in real time. 

Which PAN-OS feature is best suited for this scenario?

A. The Automated Correlation Engine
B. Cortex XDR and Cortex Data Lake
C. WildFire with API calls for automation
D. Third-party SIEM that ingests NGFW logs

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The Automated Correlation Engine in PAN-OS is specifically designed to address complex threat detection and response challenges in enterprise networks. It automatically processes firewall logs and related security data to uncover patterns and sequences of events that may indicate advanced threats or compromised systems.

This engine is crucial in environments where security teams are overwhelmed by volumes of alerts and need actionable insights. By using predefined and customizable correlation rules, the Automated Correlation Engine identifies high-level incidents that span multiple layers of the network. For example, if an attacker conducts a brute-force login attempt followed by data exfiltration, the engine can stitch these seemingly separate logs into a unified alert indicating a compromised host.

One of its major advantages is that it doesn’t require external tools or manual configuration to start correlating events. It natively integrates with PAN-OS and leverages real-time data from firewalls to highlight compromised endpoints, lateral movement, suspicious patterns, and other network anomalies. These insights enable proactive threat mitigation and significantly reduce the mean time to detect and respond to threats.

Why other options are not the best fit:

• B. Cortex XDR and Cortex Data Lake – While Cortex XDR offers extended detection and response across endpoints, and Cortex Data Lake provides centralized data storage, neither is specifically tailored to correlating NGFW log data for threat detection within PAN-OS. They are more suitable for enterprise-wide threat intelligence, not focused firewall analysis.

• C. WildFire with API automation – WildFire is effective for sandboxing and analyzing unknown files but does not automatically correlate multi-step threat events from logs. It's more focused on file-based threat detection, not log correlation or network event synthesis.

• D. Third-party SIEM tools – These can perform correlation, but they require setup, integration, and tuning. They often introduce added complexity and delay compared to the native, seamless operation of the Automated Correlation Engine within PAN-OS.

In summary, the Automated Correlation Engine is purpose-built to connect the dots between multiple threat indicators within NGFW logs. It provides real-time, actionable intelligence to identify compromised hosts and enables businesses to respond faster and more effectively, aligning directly with the customer’s security needs.

Question 5:

Which two types of URL links embedded in email messages transmitted via SMTP or POP3 protocols can be submitted to Palo Alto Networks WildFire for threat analysis, assuming a valid WildFire subscription? (Select two.)

A. FTP
B. HTTPS
C. RTP
D. HTTP

Correct Answer: B and D

Explanation:

Palo Alto Networks' WildFire is a sophisticated cloud-based malware detection service that specializes in analyzing unknown files, links, and data for potential threats. When integrated with a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), it helps prevent advanced attacks by proactively examining various types of traffic, including email protocols such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3).

In the context of email traffic, WildFire is capable of extracting embedded URLs from the body of email messages and attachments. Once these URLs are extracted, WildFire submits them for behavioral analysis to determine if they point to malicious destinations. Among the types of links it analyzes, HTTP and HTTPS URLs are the most commonly supported.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is widely used to ensure encrypted communication between users and websites. Malicious actors often embed harmful HTTPS links in phishing emails, taking advantage of users’ false sense of security. WildFire is designed to inspect such HTTPS links, sandbox them, and analyze their behavior to detect signs of malware delivery, redirection to harmful content, or credential theft.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) links, though unencrypted, are equally targeted by attackers and often used to host malicious payloads or phishing sites. WildFire also processes these links to evaluate whether they pose any threat. The analysis is performed in real-time or near real-time using dynamic sandboxing techniques that mimic user behavior to detect hidden malware.

Why the other choices are incorrect:

A. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring files over the network but is not commonly found in email hyperlinks. WildFire does not prioritize FTP links in SMTP or POP3 traffic for URL analysis.

C. RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) is used for transmitting audio and video over IP networks, not for embedding links in emails. It’s irrelevant in the context of email URL threat analysis and therefore not processed by WildFire for this use case.

To summarize, WildFire focuses on HTTP and HTTPS links in email content, as these are the primary protocols exploited in phishing campaigns and drive-by malware downloads. By analyzing these URL types, WildFire enhances protection against web-based threats embedded in email messages, allowing organizations to block malicious links before users interact with them.

Question 6:

When configuring SSL Forward Proxy on a Next-Generation Firewall, which two types of certificates are commonly used to support secure inspection of encrypted traffic? (Select two.)

A. Enterprise CA-signed certificates
B. Self-signed certificates
C. Intermediate certificates
D. Private key certificates

Correct Answer: A and B

Explanation:

SSL Forward Proxy is a powerful feature of Palo Alto Networks' Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) that allows the inspection of encrypted SSL/TLS traffic. This functionality is crucial for organizations that want visibility into encrypted sessions for detecting malware, data exfiltration, and compliance violations. To intercept and decrypt this traffic, the firewall must present trusted certificates to internal clients—a process that relies on proper certificate configuration.

Two primary types of certificates can be used for this purpose:

A. Enterprise CA-signed certificates:
These are certificates issued by an internal corporate Certificate Authority (CA). When used in SSL Forward Proxy, they are highly trusted within the organization’s network. The NGFW uses these certificates to impersonate external websites, decrypt the traffic, inspect it, and then re-encrypt it using a valid internal CA-signed certificate. Because devices on the network already trust the enterprise CA, the interception remains transparent to end-users and avoids certificate errors in browsers or applications.

B. Self-signed certificates:
A self-signed certificate is generated directly on the firewall and not validated by any external or internal CA. It can still be used to decrypt SSL traffic, but for this to work seamlessly, the certificate must be manually installed and trusted on each client device. This approach is often chosen in smaller environments or test scenarios where deploying an enterprise CA infrastructure is not practical.

Why the other options are not correct:

C. Intermediate certificates:
These are part of the certificate chain and used to link end-entity certificates to a trusted root CA. They play a supportive role in building trust but are not the main certificates used by the proxy itself. While important in standard SSL communication, intermediate certificates are not directly configured for use in SSL Forward Proxy operations.

D. Private key certificates:
This is a misinterpretation. The private key is a cryptographic element, not a certificate type. While a private key is necessary to decrypt SSL traffic, it is part of a certificate/key pair rather than a standalone certificate used in the proxy configuration.

In conclusion, SSL Forward Proxy requires either Enterprise CA-signed certificates or Self-signed certificates to function correctly. These certificates enable the firewall to intercept encrypted connections and inspect them securely, ensuring visibility and control over encrypted traffic in enterprise networks.

Question 7:

What are two advantages offered by the Decryption Broker feature when implemented on a Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)? (Choose two.)

A. It allows SSL decryption to be offloaded to the NGFW, ensuring the traffic is decrypted only once.
B. It removes the dependency on external SSL decryption tools, reducing the number of third-party inspection systems.
C. It integrates a third-party SSL decryption mechanism, increasing reliance on external devices for analysis.
D. It enables SSL traffic to be decrypted multiple times using the NGFW.

Correct Answers: A and B

Explanation:

The Decryption Broker feature on Palo Alto Networks’ Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) plays a pivotal role in managing and inspecting encrypted traffic more efficiently. In today’s digital environments, an increasing portion of traffic is encrypted using SSL/TLS, which presents a challenge for security tools that rely on content visibility. To properly inspect this traffic for threats like malware, data leaks, or unauthorized access, it must first be decrypted. The Decryption Broker addresses this by acting as a central decryption point within the network.

Option A correctly highlights that with the Decryption Broker, encrypted traffic is decrypted a single time at the NGFW. This one-time decryption approach is resource-efficient and eliminates the need for multiple decryption processes across different devices. Once decrypted by the firewall, the plaintext data can then be inspected either directly by the NGFW or forwarded to connected security tools—such as data loss prevention (DLP) or intrusion detection systems (IDS)—without re-encrypting and decrypting the traffic again.

Option B is also accurate. The Decryption Broker consolidates the decryption and inspection workload, thus removing the need to deploy additional third-party SSL decryption appliances in the traffic path. This reduces infrastructure complexity, operational overhead, and cost. More importantly, it also minimizes latency and potential points of failure introduced by unnecessary device chaining.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Option C is incorrect because the Decryption Broker is designed to replace, not add to, third-party SSL decryption tools. Its goal is to streamline and centralize SSL inspection processes.

Option D is also false. Re-decrypting the same traffic multiple times is inefficient and unnecessary. The entire purpose of the Decryption Broker is to decrypt once and share the decrypted data securely across various inspection tools without repeating the decryption process.

In summary, the Decryption Broker optimizes encrypted traffic inspection by enabling efficient, centralized decryption and eliminating the dependency on third-party tools. This leads to improved performance, simplified security architecture, and stronger visibility into potential threats within encrypted sessions.

Question 8:

What occurs when a Panorama administrator pushes configuration changes to managed firewalls that use a different Master Key than Panorama?

A. The configuration push fails, even if the configuration contains no errors.
B. The push completes successfully as long as there are no configuration issues.
C. The Master Key on the firewalls is automatically replaced with Panorama’s Master Key.
D. The system prompts the administrator to decide whether to apply Panorama’s Master Key to the managed firewalls.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

In Palo Alto Networks' ecosystem, Panorama serves as a centralized management platform that allows administrators to control and configure multiple managed firewalls from a single console. When pushing configurations from Panorama to these firewalls, a secure and consistent method of encryption and key management is critical to protect sensitive data and maintain integrity.

Each firewall and Panorama instance has a Master Key—a crucial cryptographic element used to encrypt sensitive configuration components, such as passwords and private keys. When there is a mismatch between the Master Key used on Panorama and those on the managed firewalls, it could lead to data integrity or decryption issues if not addressed appropriately.

Option D is the correct choice because, when such a key mismatch is detected during a configuration push, the system does not automatically proceed or fail. Instead, it presents a prompt to the administrator. This dialog box asks whether the Master Key from Panorama should replace the one currently used on the managed firewalls. This allows administrators to make a deliberate decision based on organizational security policies and operational requirements.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Option A is incorrect because the system doesn't outright fail the configuration push. The process includes a safeguard prompt that allows the administrator to resolve the key mismatch before proceeding.

Option B is also inaccurate. Even if the configuration itself is error-free, the Master Key discrepancy must be addressed before the push can continue. Therefore, the success of the operation isn't solely dependent on configuration validity.

Option C is false because Panorama does not unilaterally override the firewalls’ Master Key. Doing so automatically would create serious security risks and could compromise sensitive information. The overwrite must be explicitly approved by the administrator through the prompt.

In conclusion, the behavior ensures that sensitive encrypted configurations are handled securely, and administrators retain control over how encryption keys are managed. This prompt-driven process upholds best practices in security and avoids unintended key mismatches or credential exposure.

Question 9:

An administrator is tasked with ensuring that data in a cloud environment is protected both at rest and in transit. Which of the following technologies would BEST meet this requirement?

A. Multi-tenancy isolation
B. Hypervisor segmentation
C. Data encryption
D. Load balancing

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

When it comes to data protection in a cloud environment, the two key scenarios are data at rest (stored data) and data in transit (moving data). Protecting both states is essential for maintaining data confidentiality, integrity, and compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS.

The correct answer is C: Data encryption. This is the best way to ensure that unauthorized users cannot read sensitive information, whether the data is being stored on a disk (at rest) or transmitted across a network (in transit). Encryption can be symmetric or asymmetric and is typically implemented using protocols like TLS for data in transit and AES-256 for data at rest. Modern cloud platforms provide built-in encryption capabilities, and many services allow you to bring your own encryption keys (BYOK) for enhanced control.

Let’s examine why the other options are incorrect:

• A (Multi-tenancy isolation): This refers to logical separation of customer data in a shared cloud environment. While it helps prevent cross-tenant data leakage, it doesn’t encrypt data or actively protect it in transit or at rest.

• B (Hypervisor segmentation): This technique helps separate workloads at the virtualization layer. It enhances security for VMs but doesn’t protect the data itself if intercepted.

• D (Load balancing): Load balancing ensures high availability and even distribution of workloads. It does not encrypt or secure data during storage or transmission.

Encryption is the most effective method for securing data in both resting and transiting states, making it an essential part of any cloud security strategy. Administrators should always ensure encryption is enabled and properly managed to comply with industry standards and protect against data breaches.

Question 10:

A cloud administrator wants to improve the performance of a web application by reducing latency and distributing traffic across multiple resources. Which solution should the administrator implement?

A. Auto-scaling group
B. Load balancer
C. Object storage
D. Virtual Private Network (VPN)**

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

To reduce latency and distribute traffic across multiple backend servers or instances, the most appropriate solution is to use a load balancer. Load balancers serve as intermediaries that distribute incoming client requests to multiple servers based on a set of rules or algorithms (e.g., round robin, least connections, etc.). This helps ensure no single server becomes overwhelmed, improving the application's performance, reliability, and scalability.

Answer B is correct because a load balancer directly addresses the needs described: reducing latency by directing requests to the nearest or healthiest server, and distributing traffic to prevent overloading any one resource. Load balancers can operate at Layer 4 (transport) or Layer 7 (application), and many cloud providers offer both types in their infrastructure.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• A (Auto-scaling group): Auto-scaling helps dynamically adjust the number of resources based on demand. While it improves scalability and availability, it doesn't handle request routing or latency reduction directly. It's complementary to load balancing, not a substitute.

• C (Object storage): Object storage (e.g., Amazon S3, Azure Blob) is optimized for unstructured data and not suited for real-time traffic distribution or latency optimization.

• D (Virtual Private Network - VPN): A VPN encrypts and tunnels traffic securely over the internet. While it enhances security, it doesn’t manage or balance traffic loads.

Load balancers are a foundational element of any cloud infrastructure designed to handle high traffic. They ensure that applications stay responsive, redundant, and scalable by smartly routing incoming traffic. This is crucial for performance optimization and minimizing downtime.