Free Practice Questions for Paloalto Networks PCCET Exam

Local systems can eliminate vulnerabilities by patching systems and software effectively and continuously. Patching is the process of applying updates or fixes to software or hardware components that have known vulnerabilities or bugs. Patching can prevent attackers from exploiting these vulnerabilities and compromising the security or functionality of the systems. Patching should be done regularly and promptly, as new vulnerabilities are constantly discovered and exploited by cybercriminals. Patching should also be done effectively, meaning that the patches are tested and verified before deployment, and that they do not introduce new vulnerabilities or issues. Patching should also be done continuously, meaning that the systems are monitored for new vulnerabilities and patches are applied as soon as they are available. Continuous patching can reduce the window of opportunity for attackers to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities and cause damage or data breaches. References:

•1: What is Patch Management? | Palo Alto Networks

•2: Patch Management Best Practices: How to Keep Your Systems Secure | Snyk

•3: Vulnerability Remediation Process - 4 Steps to Remediation | Snyk

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 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

Micro-segmentation is a VM-Series virtual firewall cloud deployment use case that reduces your environment’s attack surface. Micro-segmentation is the process of dividing a network into smaller segments, each with its own security policies and controls. This helps to isolate and protect workloads from lateral movement and unauthorized access, as well as to enforce granular trust zones and application dependencies. Micro-segmentation can be applied to virtualized data centers, private clouds, and public clouds, using software-defined solutions such as VMware NSX, Cisco ACI, and Azure Virtual WAN. References: Micro-Segmentation - Palo Alto Networks, VM-Series Deployment Guide - Palo Alto Networks, VM-Series on VMware NSX - Palo Alto Networks, VM-Series on Cisco ACI - Palo Alto Networks, VM-Series on Azure Virtual WAN - Palo Alto Networks

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.

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

Cortex XDR is an endpoint product from Palo Alto Networks that can help with SOC visibility by allowing you to rapidly detect and respond to threats across your networks, endpoints, and clouds. It assists SOC analysts by allowing them to view all the alerts from all Palo Alto Networks products in one place, and to perform root cause analysis and automated response actions. Cortex XDR also integrates with other Palo Alto Networks products, such as WildFire, AutoFocus, and Cortex Data Lake, to provide comprehensive threat intelligence and data enrichment12. References:

SOC Services - Palo Alto Networks

Endpoint Protection - Palo Alto Networks

Security Operations | Palo Alto Networks

Cortex - Palo Alto Networks

Command and Control: Attackers establish encrypted communication channels back to command-and-control (C2) servers across the internet so that they can modify their attack objectives and methods as additional targets of opportunity are identified within the victim network, or to evade any new security countermeasures that the organization may attempt to deploy if attack artifacts are discovered.