Paloalto Networks PCCSE Prisma Certified Cloud Security Engineer Exam Practice Test

In the Data Security module of cloud security platforms like Prisma Cloud, the types of bucket exposures typically include Public (option A), Private (option B), and Conditional (option E). Public buckets are accessible by anyone on the internet, posing a significant data leakage risk. Private buckets are restricted to authorized users only, offering a higher level of security. Conditional exposure involves buckets that may be accessible under certain conditions or to specific users, requiring careful configuration and policy enforcement to prevent unauthorized access. International (option C) and Differential (option D) do not represent standard types of bucket exposures in cloud security contexts.

In Prisma Cloud Enterprise, for alerts to be generated for configuration assets in an onboarded public cloud account, it is essential that the account is associated with an alert rule that matches the enabled config policies. If the account is not linked to an alert rule or if the existing alert rules do not match the config policies, no alerts will be generated even though configuration resource ingestion is visible, and RQL statements return config resource results. This requirement emphasizes the need for a well-structured alerting mechanism to ensure that security incidents are promptly identified and addressed​​.

In the Prisma Cloud Web-Application and API Security (WAAS) rules, protections against OWASP-recognized vulnerabilities like Local file inclusion, SQL injection, and Shellshock are included. Local file inclusion involves unauthorized access to files on the server, potentially leading to sensitive information disclosure. SQL injection targets data-driven applications by inserting malicious SQL statements into an entry field, while Shellshock exploits vulnerabilities in Bash, a widely used Unix shell, to execute arbitrary commands. These protections are part of Prisma Cloud's comprehensive approach to securing web applications and APIs against common and severe vulnerabilities.

When accessing the Prisma Cloud API for a tenant located on app2.prismacloud.io, the correct API endpoint to use would be https://api2.prismacloud.io. This endpoint corresponds to the Prisma Cloud service instance hosted on app2.prismacloud.io, ensuring that API requests are directed to the correct instance of the service for processing.

The use of api2 in the URL indicates that this is the second instance or a different geographical or functional partition of the Prisma Cloud service, which might be used for load balancing, redundancy, or serving different sets of users. It is crucial to use the correct endpoint corresponding to the Prisma Cloud console URL to ensure successful API communication and authentication.

In Prisma Cloud, custom policies allow administrators to define specific security and compliance rules tailored to their organization's needs. When adding CLI (Command Line Interface) remediation commands to a custom policy, Prisma Cloud limits the number of commands to ensure manageability and effectiveness of the remediations. Each custom policy can include one CLI remediation command (B). This limitation helps maintain the simplicity and focus of each policy, ensuring that remediations are targeted and straightforward to implement. It prevents the policies from becoming overly complex, which could lead to potential conflicts or unintended consequences when executing multiple commands.

Prisma Cloud, developed by Palo Alto Networks, is known for its comprehensive cloud security capabilities across various cloud service providers (CSPs). The integration and support extend to major CSPs, including AWS (Amazon Web Services), Azure (Microsoft's Cloud), GCP (Google Cloud Platform), Oracle Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud. This wide range of support ensures that organizations leveraging multi-cloud environments can maintain consistent security postures across all their cloud assets. The information regarding supported CSPs by Prisma Cloud can typically be found in their official documentation and release notes, which detail the features, integrations, and enhancements specific to each CSP.

To protect a web application container from an SQL Injection (SQLi) attack, the administrator should create a Cloud Native Application Firewall (CNAF) policy. CNAF policies are designed to protect applications running in containers from various types of attacks, including SQLi, by inspecting the traffic going to and from the containerized applications and blocking malicious requests.

During the deployment of the Defender DaemonSet in Prisma Cloud, the default namespace created is "Defender." This namespace is specifically used to organize the resources associated with Prisma Cloud Defenders within the Kubernetes environment. The "Defender" namespace helps in segregating the Defender components from other applications or services running in the cluster, thereby facilitating easier management and monitoring of security-related resources.

The commands presented in the image are used to scan images with the twistcli command-line tool, which is part of the Prisma Cloud suite. To determine the correct command, we need to identify the one that specifies output to stdout in a tabular format and writes the scan results to a JSON file.

Option A uses the --stdout flag, which is the correct way to output to stdout, and --output-file with the .json format for the file. The --address flag is correctly used to specify the Console address. Thus, Option A is the correct command fulfilling the requirement.

In the context of calculating net effective permissions for a resource in AWS, IPTables firewall rule is not used. Net effective permissions in AWS are determined by evaluating various AWS-specific mechanisms such as IAM policies, permission boundaries, and service control policies (SCPs). IAM policies define what actions are allowed or denied for various AWS resources. Permission boundaries provide a way to delegate administration for IAM entities, setting the maximum permissions that an IAM entity can have. SCPs are part of AWS Organizations and allow for central control over the maximum available permissions for all accounts within an organization. IPTables, on the other hand, is a Linux-based application for setting up firewall rules on individual hosts and is not directly related to AWS resource permissions. Therefore, IPTables firewall rules are not considered when calculating net effective permissions in AWS, making option C the correct answer.

In Prisma Cloud, the "Monitor > Compliance" menu is the centralized location where administrators can verify the status of custom compliance checks, along with predefined compliance standards and frameworks. This section provides a comprehensive view of the organization's compliance posture, displaying whether specific compliance checks are passing or failing. It allows for detailed insights into compliance status across cloud environments, helping administrators identify areas of non-compliance, understand the reasons behind compliance failures, and take corrective actions to address any identified issues.

• POST https://api.prismacloud.io/login
• GET https://api.prismacloud.io/access_keys
• PATCH https://api.prismacloud.io/access_keys//status/

To write a script that automatically deactivates access keys that have not been used for 30 days, an administrator would need to follow an ordered sequence of API calls to the Prisma Cloud platform.

The first API call must authenticate the script with the Prisma Cloud API, which is typically done using a POST request to the login endpoint. This step is necessary to establish a session and retrieve an authentication token required for subsequent API calls.

Once the script is authenticated, the next call is a GET request to the access_keys endpoint. This retrieves a list of all access keys within the environment. The script can then parse through these keys to determine which ones have not been used within the specified timeframe of 30 days.

For each access key that meets the criteria (unused for 30 days), the script must send a PATCH request to the specific access key's endpoint, which includes the access key ID and the desired status. This request will change the status of the access key to 'inactive' or a similar status that denotes deactivation.

Following this ordered sequence ensures that the script systematically authenticates, evaluates, and updates the status of access keys based on their usage, thereby maintaining security and compliance within the Prisma Cloud environment.

Enabling anomalous compute provisioning in Prisma Cloud allows for the detection of unusual and potentially unauthorized activities related to the creation of compute instances. This feature is particularly useful for identifying scenarios where an unauthorized network of compute instances might be established, either accidentally due to misconfigurations or maliciously for purposes such as cryptojacking. Cryptojacking involves the unauthorized use of someone else's compute resources to mine cryptocurrency, and anomalous compute provisioning can help in identifying such activities by highlighting unusual patterns in the provisioning of compute resources.

To enforce a rate limit for users posting .tar.gz files, the administrator needs to configure a ban for Denial of Service (DoS) protection with an average rate of 5 and match file extensions on .tar.gz on the Web Application and API Security (WAAS) system. This ensures that if the specified rate is exceeded, the action is blocked, thus providing protection against potential DoS attacks.

To detect and alert on cryptominer network activity, the policy type that should be used is an Anomaly policy. Anomaly policies in Prisma Cloud are designed to identify unusual and potentially malicious activities, including the network patterns typical of cryptomining operations. These policies leverage behavioral analytics to spot deviations from normal operations, making Option B the correct answer.

To use the automated method within Azure Cloud for streamlining the process of using remediation in the identity and access management (IAM) module, the required actions include configuring the IAM Azure remediation script, integrating with Azure Service Bus, and installing the azure.servicebus & requests library. These steps ensure that the automated remediation system can communicate effectively with Azure services, execute the necessary remediation actions, and address IAM-related alerts by adjusting permissions and access controls as needed. This automation helps maintain a secure and compliant cloud environment by promptly addressing potential IAM issues.

The correct command to scan the nginx:latest image for vulnerabilities and compliance issues using the Prisma Cloud twistcli tool is shown in Option D. This command uses twistcli images scan with specified parameters for the console address, username, and password, and it outputs the results to a file named scan-results.json. This allows for the scanning results to be saved and reviewed in a structured format, which aids in further analysis and tracking of vulnerabilities and compliance issues.

To achieve immediate notification for "High Severity" alerts for a specific account group via Slack, the steps outlined in option A provide a comprehensive and effective approach. Firstly, configuring the Slack Integration establishes the necessary communication channel between Prisma Cloud and the Slack workspace. Creating an alert rule with the specified account group and severity filters ensures that only relevant alerts trigger notifications. Selecting Slack as the notification channel and setting the frequency to "As it Happens" ensures real-time alerting for critical issues. This method leverages Prisma Cloud's alerting capabilities and Slack's real-time messaging platform to promptly notify the security team, enabling swift action to mitigate risks. This approach is in line with Prisma Cloud's flexible and configurable alerting system, designed to integrate with various external platforms for efficient incident response.

To configure serverless scanning in a cloud security platform like Prisma Cloud, the system needs to know where (Region) the serverless functions are deployed, how to access them (Credential), and on which cloud platform they are running (Provider). These settings ensure that the scanning tool can accurately locate and authenticate to the serverless functions across different cloud environments for vulnerability assessment. This aligns with the principle of providing comprehensive visibility and consistent security across multi-cloud environments as outlined in the "Guide to Cloud Security Posture Management Tools" document​​.

The Container Runtime Model in Prisma Cloud typically includes states such as Learning, Active, and Archived. The Learning state is where Prisma Cloud observes container behaviors to understand normal operations and establish a baseline. During this phase, the system is not actively enforcing security policies but is learning the typical behaviors and patterns of container activity. The Active state is where the system actively enforces security policies based on the learned behaviors and detected anomalies. Containers that exhibit suspicious or malicious activity that deviates from the baseline may trigger alerts or actions based on configured policies. The Archived state refers to containers that are no longer active but whose data and activity logs are retained for historical analysis or compliance purposes.

In Prisma Cloud, the list of people who are receiving e-mails for alerts is managed within the configuration of individual Alert Rules.

• Option D: Set Alert Notification section within an Alert Rule is where administrators can specify the e-mail recipients for alerts generated by Prisma Cloud. This section allows for the customization of alert notifications, including the selection of recipients who should receive email notifications when an alert is triggered. This granularity ensures that the right stakeholders are informed about specific security incidents or compliance violations, facilitating timely and appropriate responses.

References:

• Prisma Cloud Alert Configuration Documentation: Details the process of setting up alert rules in Prisma Cloud, including how to configure notification settings and specify recipients for email alerts.
• Alert Management Best Practices: Offers insights into effective alert management strategies, highlighting the importance of targeted alert notifications in ensuring that critical security information reaches the relevant parties promptly.

When configuring Kubernetes to use Prisma Cloud Compute as an admission controller, a crucial step involves D. copy the admission controller configuration from the Console and apply it to Kubernetes. This step is essential for integrating Prisma Cloud Compute's security controls directly into the Kubernetes admission process, enabling real-time security assessments and policy enforcement for new or modified resources within the cluster.

step 2

• Create CloudTrail with S3 as storage
• Enter SNS Topic in CloudTrail
• Enter RoleARN and SNSARN
• Create Stack

Comprehensive Detailed Explanation:Onboarding an AWS account for use with the Data Security feature involves setting up AWS CloudTrail to monitor API calls and log the data to an Amazon S3 bucket, which is essential for auditing and security purposes.

The first step in the onboarding process is to create an AWS CloudTrail with S3 as the storage destination. This is where all the CloudTrail logs will be collected and stored. The S3 bucket must be properly configured to receive and store logs.

After setting up CloudTrail, the next step is to enter the Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) topic in CloudTrail. This step involves specifying an SNS topic that CloudTrail will use to send notifications of log file delivery to the specified S3 bucket.

The third step is to enter the Role Amazon Resource Name (RoleARN) and the SNS Amazon Resource Name (SNSARN). RoleARN refers to the IAM role that grants permissions to the CloudTrail to access resources, while SNSARN is the identifier for the SNS topic created in the previous step.

Finally, the last step is to create a stack, which typically refers to deploying a CloudFormation template or another infrastructure as code service in AWS. This stack will set up all the necessary resources and configurations automatically, including the correct permissions and settings for the Data Security feature to function correctly.

These steps ensure that the AWS account is properly configured to capture and store API call logs and to notify the appropriate systems or personnel when specific events occur, thereby enhancing data security monitoring and compliance.

Console audit logs, which provide records of user activities and changes within the cloud security platform, are typically not viewable directly within the Console itself. They are usually accessible externally to the Console (option B), either through a dedicated logging or security information and event management (SIEM) system, or via cloud provider's logging services. This external access ensures that audit logs are securely stored and managed, providing an immutable record of activities for compliance and forensic analysis.

• Install IntelliJ IDE
• Add Prisma Cloud plugin
• Configure the Prisma Cloud plugin
• Scan using the Prisma Cloud plugin

To configure and use the Prisma Cloud plugin for scanning within the IntelliJ Integrated Development Environment (IDE), you must follow a series of steps in a specific order to ensure proper setup and functionality.

Firstly, you need to have the IntelliJ IDE installed on your system. Without the IDE, you cannot add or use the Prisma Cloud plugin, as it is designed to work within this development environment.

Secondly, after installing the IntelliJ IDE, you add the Prisma Cloud plugin. This involves navigating to the plugin marketplace within IntelliJ and selecting the Prisma Cloud plugin for installation.

Once the plugin is added to your IntelliJ IDE, the next step is to configure the Prisma Cloud plugin. This configuration may include setting up your Prisma Cloud credentials, specifying your scan options, and other settings that tailor the plugin's functionality to your needs.

Finally, after the plugin is installed and configured, you can proceed to scan your project using the Prisma Cloud plugin. This will check your code against security policies and compliance standards, providing feedback and recommendations for any identified issues.

Following these steps ensures that the Prisma Cloud plugin is properly integrated into your IntelliJ development workflow, allowing for continuous security and compliance checks as part of the development process.

When the Console is unreachable during upgrades, Defenders continue to alert and enforce using the policies and settings most recently cached before the upgrade (option D). This behavior ensures that security enforcement remains active and consistent, even when the central management console is temporarily unavailable. The cached policies enable Defenders to maintain the security posture based on the last known configuration, ensuring continuous protection against threats and compliance with established security policies. This approach reflects Prisma Cloud's design principle of ensuring uninterrupted security enforcement, thereby safeguarding the environment against potential vulnerabilities during maintenance periods.

When you have one or more tenant or scale Projects, upgrade all Supervisors before upgrading the Central Console.

Prisma Cloud supports Single Sign-On (SSO) integration through Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), enabling users to authenticate using their existing identity providers (IdPs) such as Okta, Azure Active Directory, PingID, among others. This SSO integration allows for a seamless user authentication experience, where users can log in to Prisma Cloud using their credentials managed by their organization's IdP. The SAML protocol facilitates this by allowing secure exchange of authentication and authorization data between the IdP and Prisma Cloud.

This integration enhances security by centralizing user authentication, reducing the number of passwords users need to remember, and enabling organizations to enforce their security policies, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and password complexity, across their cloud security tools. SAML support is a common feature in cloud security platforms for integrating with various IdPs, making it a verified approach for Prisma Cloud as well.

In Prisma Cloud, runtime rules are created to monitor and control the behavior of applications and services during their execution to ensure compliance with security policies. The three types of runtime rules that can be created in Prisma Cloud are:

• Processes: These rules monitor and control the execution of processes within the environment. They can be used to detect unauthorized or malicious processes and take actions such as alerting, blocking, or terminating the processes.
• Network-outgoing: These rules govern the outbound network connections from the applications or containers. They help in controlling access to external resources, preventing data exfiltration, and ensuring that the communication complies with the security policies.
• Filesystem: Filesystem rules are related to the access and modification of the file system by applications or containers. These rules can help in detecting unauthorized access, changes to sensitive files, and ensuring that the applications adhere to the least privilege principle in terms of file access.

These runtime rules are essential for maintaining the security and integrity of applications running in cloud environments, especially in dynamic and distributed architectures where traditional perimeter-based security controls may not be sufficient.

The given admission control policy is designed to evaluate pod creation requests in a Kubernetes environment, specifically targeting the creation of privileged pods, which can pose significant security risks.

• Option D: The policy will block the creation of a privileged pod is the correct answer when the effect of the policy is set to “block”. In this context, the policy's logic checks if a pod being created is set to run in privileged mode (a high-risk configuration that grants the pod extended system privileges). If such a configuration is detected, the policy triggers an action to block the pod's creation, thereby preventing the deployment of privileged pods that could undermine the security posture of the Kubernetes environment.

References:

• Kubernetes Admission Controllers Documentation: Provides a comprehensive overview of admission controllers in Kubernetes, including how they can be used to enforce policy decisions, such as preventing the creation of privileged pods.
• Best Practices for Kubernetes Security: Discusses the importance of admission control policies in maintaining the security and integrity of Kubernetes environments, with specific emphasis on the risks associated with privileged pods.

In the Prisma Cloud Software Release 22.06, referred to as the Kepler release, the addition of Google Artifact Registry as a supported Registry type was a significant update. Google Artifact Registry is designed to store, manage, and secure your container images and language packages (such as Maven and npm). It provides a single place for teams to manage their artifacts and dependencies, improving consistency and security across software development and deployment processes. This update in Prisma Cloud reflects the platform's commitment to supporting the latest cloud-native technologies and services, enhancing its capabilities in securing modern cloud environments.

Prisma Cloud's API documentation and extensive developer resources are primarily hosted on prisma.pan.dev, which is Palo Alto Networks' developer portal. This site offers comprehensive guides, API references, and resources for developers to integrate, automate, and extend the capabilities of Prisma Cloud within their applications and workflows. While docs.paloaltonetworks.com provides official product documentation, and Prisma Cloud Administrator’s Guide offers in-depth administrative guidance, prisma.pan.dev is specifically designed to serve as the hub for API documentation and developer resources. The Live Community is another valuable resource for peer support and discussions but is not the primary source for API documentation.

The timestamp on the compliance dashboard in a cloud security context typically reflects the point in time when data from various sources is collected, processed, and then consolidated to present the compliance status or results. This aggregation process involves compiling data from multiple scans, logs, and other compliance-related information to provide a comprehensive overview of the current compliance posture. Therefore, the timestamp usually indicates when this aggregation was completed, ensuring that users are viewing the most up-to-date and relevant compliance information based on the latest data compilation.

When the Compute Console in Prisma Cloud is upgraded to a newer major release, while the Defenders and the Twistcli tool remain on the older version, the system is designed to ensure backward compatibility to a certain extent. As a result, both Defenders and Twistcli will continue to operate despite the version discrepancy. The Defenders will remain connected, continuing their monitoring and protection duties, and the Twistcli tool will keep functioning, allowing for continued scanning and other CLI-based operations. This design ensures that the security and functionality of the environment are not abruptly interrupted due to the upgrade process, providing administrators with a window to plan and execute the upgrade of Defenders and Twistcli without immediate pressure.

Top Critical CVEs for deployed images can be found in the Defend → Vulnerabilities → Images section in the Cloud Security Console. This section provides details of the CVEs associated with the deployed images, such as severity, remediation status, and references to external sources. It also allows users to take action on the identified CVEs and ensure that their environment remains secure.

In Prisma Cloud, the "Defend → Vulnerabilities → Images" path is typically used to find the top critical Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) for deployed container images. This section of the Prisma Cloud Console allows users to view and manage the vulnerabilities associated with container images used in their cloud environment. It provides a comprehensive list of identified vulnerabilities, their severity levels, and detailed information about each vulnerability, such as the CVE ID, description, and potential impact. This enables DevOps and security teams to prioritize and address the most critical vulnerabilities to ensure the security of their containerized applications and services.

In Prisma Cloud's alarm center, when an alert notification is deleted, the system is designed to suppress similar alarms for a default duration to prevent alert fatigue and allow administrators to address the underlying issue without being overwhelmed by repetitive notifications. The default suppression duration is set to 12 hours. This means that once an alert is deleted, any similar alarms triggered by the same conditions or configurations will not be generated for the next 12 hours. This feature helps in managing the alert volume, allowing security teams to prioritize and focus on remediation efforts effectively without the distraction of recurring alerts for the same issue.

The protection in the runtime rule that would cause the audit message indicating "/bin/ls launched and is explicitly blocked in the runtime rule" is related to "Processes". In container security, a runtime rule set to monitor and restrict processes can block specific executables or commands from running within a container. If the rule is triggered, it indicates that a process that is explicitly denied by the policy attempted to execute, which in this case is the 'ls' command.

After upgrading the Prisma Cloud Console (formerly Twistlock Console), the steps outlined in option A are essential to ensure the entire Prisma Cloud ecosystem is updated and functioning correctly. Uninstalling Defenders, updating the Jenkins Plugin, and upgrading the TwistCLI tool are critical steps to align with the new Console version's capabilities and security enhancements. This process ensures that Defenders (the agents deployed to protect various resources) are compatible with the upgraded Console, and that the development and CI/CD tools integrated with Prisma Cloud, such as Jenkins, continue to operate effectively with the updated platform. The final step, allowing the Console to redeploy the Defender, ensures that all components are synchronized and that the security posture is maintained across the environment. This approach is consistent with best practices for maintaining cloud security tools and ensuring that updates do not disrupt the protected environment's security posture.

In Prisma Cloud, the capability to scan serverless functions, such as AWS Lambda functions, for vulnerabilities is an integral part of ensuring cloud security posture management (CSPM) and compliance. Specifically, option C is correct because Prisma Cloud provides a dedicated section for defining policies related to serverless function vulnerabilities under the "Defend > Vulnerabilities > Functions" page. This feature allows administrators to create and manage policies that automatically scan serverless functions for known vulnerabilities, ensuring that the functions comply with the organization's security standards before they are deployed. This approach aligns with Prisma Cloud's comprehensive security model that covers various aspects of cloud security, including serverless functions, as outlined in the "Guide to Cloud Security Posture Management Tools" document​​

To create a network exposure policy that identifies instances accessible from any untrusted internet sources, a SecOps engineer would need to navigate to the Policy section within Prisma Cloud and add a new policy of the Config type. They would define the details of the policy such as the name and severity level and then configure the RQL query to specify conditions that match instances accessible from untrusted internet sources. The RQL query provided in the answer specifies that the source of the network traffic should be from an untrusted internet and that the destination resource should be an instance in the AWS cloud. After defining the compliance standards and providing recommendations for remediation, the policy can be saved to be enforced within the environment.

The Defender type "Container Defender - Linux" in Prisma Cloud is typically deployed as a container. This deployment method allows the Defender to integrate seamlessly into containerized environments, providing runtime protection and monitoring for container activities. By running as a container, the Container Defender can leverage the native capabilities of the container orchestration platform, such as Kubernetes, to provide security features like threat detection, vulnerability management, and compliance enforcement within the containerized environment. This approach ensures that the security protections are closely aligned with the dynamic and scalable nature of containerized applications.

To enable a user to interact programmatically with Prisma Cloud APIs and for a nonhuman entity to access keys, the correct action is to create a role and assign it to the Service Account (D). Service accounts in Prisma Cloud are designed for programmatic access by applications or automated tools, allowing these entities to interact with Prisma Cloud APIs securely. By creating a specific role with the necessary permissions and assigning it to a service account, administrators can ensure that the entity has the appropriate level of access required for its operations, aligning with the principle of least privilege and enhancing the security posture of API interactions.

To enable role-based access control (RBAC) for the Docker engine in a Prisma Cloud environment, the first configuration step involves setting Docker’s listener type to TCP. This change allows Docker to accept connections over the network, facilitating the integration with Prisma Cloud Defenders, which can then enforce RBAC policies. Configuring Docker to listen on TCP is essential for enabling communication between the Docker daemon and Prisma Cloud Defenders, which act as the enforcement point for RBAC, controlling which users or services can perform actions on the Docker engine based on their roles and permissions. This setup is foundational for implementing granular access controls and enhancing the security of Docker operations within the environment.

In the event a user is unable to log in to the Prisma Cloud Console, Audit Logs serve as a critical area for investigating the issue. Audit Logs provide a detailed record of activities, including login attempts, within the Prisma Cloud environment. By examining the Audit Logs, administrators can identify failed login attempts, understand the reasons behind login failures (e.g., incorrect credentials, account lockouts, or access policy changes), and take appropriate actions to resolve the login issues, ensuring users can access the console as expected.

The audit trail section of an asset's detail view in Prisma Cloud typically includes a log of configuration changes and alert and vulnerability events associated with the asset. These elements are crucial for tracking the history of modifications to an asset's configuration and the security incidents that have affected it. This information is instrumental in understanding the security posture of the asset over time and in conducting thorough investigations after a security event has been detected.

To assign a new policy to a compliance standard in Prisma Cloud, the administrator needs to edit the policy and navigate to the step where compliance standards are managed. By clicking the '+' button, the administrator can add the policy to a specific compliance standard, provide necessary details, and confirm the assignment. This integrates the custom policy into the chosen compliance standard, ensuring that compliance checks include the newly defined policy criteria.

To specifically target running containers with a Cloud Native Application Framework (CNAF) policy in Prisma Cloud, the administrator should scope the policy to Image names. By doing so, the policy will apply to containers based on the images they were created from, allowing for precise targeting of security policies to specific containers. This approach is part of Prisma Cloud's capabilities to provide granular security controls for containerized environments, ensuring that policies are effectively applied to the relevant containers​​.

To upgrade Defenders in a Kubernetes deployment with Console v20.04, the recommended options are to remove the Defenders DaemonSet (Option B) and then redeploy, or let Defenders automatically upgrade (Option D). By removing the Defenders DaemonSet, you can manually control the upgrade process, ensuring that new Defenders are deployed with the latest version. Allowing Defenders to automatically upgrade is a convenient option that minimizes manual intervention, as Defenders are designed to self-update to the latest version when available. The option to run a provided curl | bash script from the Console (Option A) is not a standard practice for upgrading Defenders in Kubernetes environments. Using Cloud Discovery to automatically redeploy Defenders (Option C) is not applicable in this context, as Cloud Discovery is more relevant to discovering cloud resources rather than managing Defender deployments.

The correct RQL that will be triggered by the audit event shown in the snippet is Option B. This RQL specifies operations related to storage bucket creation and deletion, which match the provided audit event activity snippet that includes a request to set IAM permissions on a storage bucket. The RQL is designed to capture events that may indicate changes in access permissions or potential data security concerns.

The runtime audit message indicating "DNS resolution of suspicious name wikipedia.com. type A" would appear as an audit because the DNS was not learned as part of the Container model or added to the DNS allow list (option A). In cloud security platforms like Prisma Cloud, runtime protection policies monitor the behavior of running containers and compare it against a learned model of expected behavior. If a container attempts to resolve a DNS name that was not observed during the learning phase or specifically allowed, it triggers an audit event to alert security teams of potentially malicious activity.

The given RQL (Resource Query Language) query is looking for specific audit events related to cryptographic key actions and snapshot creation. The snippet that matches this query is Option C, which contains the statement indicating permissions that allow any action ("Action": "*") and the reference to the version date "2012-10-17" that corresponds to the policy within the audit log.

This can be cross-referenced with cloud provider documentation, such as AWS CloudTrail or Google Cloud Audit Logs, which record user activities and API usage. The RQL provided would be used in a CSPM tool to query these audit logs for the specified events.

To onboard an AWS account into Prisma Cloud for the purpose of monitoring resource configurations, the necessary information includes the Role ARN (Amazon Resource Name) and CloudTrail setup. The Role ARN (Option E) is crucial because Prisma Cloud requires permission to access and monitor resources within the AWS account, which is facilitated through an IAM role that Prisma Cloud can assume. This IAM role must have the necessary permissions to access AWS services and resources that Prisma Cloud needs to monitor. CloudTrail (Option A) is essential for auditing and monitoring API calls within the AWS environment, including those related to resource configurations. It provides visibility into user and resource activity by recording API calls made on the account. CloudTrail logs are used by Prisma Cloud to detect changes in resource configurations and ensure compliance with security policies. Subscription ID (Option B) and Active Directory ID (Option C) are more relevant to Azure cloud environments, not AWS. External ID (Option D) is used in a cross-account role trust relationship to prevent the "confused deputy" problem, but it's not specifically required just to onboard the account for resource configuration monitoring.

To receive notifications about alerts generated when the operator is away from the Prisma Cloud Console, a Notification rule must be created. Notification rules in Prisma Cloud are designed to define the conditions under which notifications are sent and to specify the recipients of these notifications. These rules can be configured to trigger notifications based on various criteria, such as the severity of alerts, specific types of security incidents, or compliance violations. By setting up notification rules, operators can ensure that they are promptly informed of critical security events, even when they are not actively monitoring the Prisma Cloud Console, enabling timely investigation and response to potential security issues.

Build Image, Scan Image, Publish Scan, Commit to Registry (if scan result is passed)

Web Application and API Security (WAAS) bot protection within the Prisma Cloud ecosystem includes various types of bots, with "User-defined bots" and "Unknown bots" being two key categories. User-defined bots refer to bots that organizations have explicitly identified and categorized based on their behavior and purpose. These can include legitimate bots such as search engine crawlers or internal automation tools, which are recognized and allowed based on predefined criteria set by the user.

Unknown bots, on the other hand, encompass bots that have not been explicitly identified or categorized by the user or the system. These can potentially include malicious bots that attempt to scrape data, perform DDoS attacks, or exploit vulnerabilities in web applications and APIs. The categorization of unknown bots is crucial for maintaining security, as it allows for the monitoring and analysis of bot behavior to identify potential threats and take appropriate actions.

In the context of Prisma Cloud and its emphasis on securing cloud-native applications, the differentiation between user-defined and unknown bots is significant. Prisma Cloud's approach to WAAS bot protection is designed to provide granular control over bot traffic, enabling organizations to distinguish between beneficial and harmful bot activities. This aligns with the broader goal of ensuring the security and integrity of web applications and APIs in a cloud environment, as highlighted in documents such as the "Prisma-Cloud-Visibility-and-Control-Qualification-Guide" and "Guide-to-CSPM-Tools-Email-Social -LP-Copy." These resources emphasize the importance of comprehensive security measures that include the management of bot traffic to protect against a wide range of web-based threats.

References:

• "Prisma-Cloud-Visibility-and-Control-Qualification-Guide" discusses the importance of visibility and control in cloud environments, including the management of bot traffic as part of a comprehensive security strategy.
• "Guide-to-CSPM-Tools-Email-Social -LP-Copy" highlights the need for advanced security tools and practices, such as WAAS bot protection, to manage and mitigate the risks associated with web applications and APIs in the cloud.

To ingest host findings and generate alerts in Prisma Cloud, integrations with Tenable (B) and Qualys (D) are supported. These integrations allow Prisma Cloud to ingest vulnerability and compliance data from Tenable and Qualys, which are renowned vulnerability management solutions. By integrating these tools, Prisma Cloud can enhance its visibility into the security posture of hosts within the cloud environment, enabling more comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities. The integration facilitates the aggregation and correlation of findings from these external sources, enriching the overall security intelligence and enabling more informed and timely decision-making regarding threat mitigation and compliance management.

To restrict any container from resolving the name , the administrator should set as a blocklisted DNS name in the default Container policy and set the effect to prevent. This configuration in Prisma Cloud, or similar CSPM tools, ensures that any attempt to resolve the specified blocklisted DNS name within any container will be prevented, thus enhancing security by proactively blocking potential communication with known malicious domains.

Reference to this feature can be found in the documentation of CSPM tools that offer runtime protection for containers. These tools allow administrators to define security policies that can include DNS-based controls to prevent containers from accessing known malicious or undesirable URLs, thereby preventing potential data exfiltration, malware communication, or other security threats

To onboard an AWS account for monitoring by Prisma Cloud, specifically for resource configuration monitoring, the required pieces of information include:

• A. External ID: The External ID is a unique identifier used in the trust relationship between Prisma Cloud and the AWS account, ensuring secure access, making it a correct choice.
• D. RoleARN: The Role Amazon Resource Name (RoleARN) is necessary to grant Prisma Cloud the required permissions to access and monitor the AWS account resources, making it a correct choice. Option B (CloudTrail) is related to AWS logging but is not required solely for onboarding. Option C (Active Directory ID) is not relevant to AWS account onboarding for Prisma Cloud.

The question focuses on valid host compliance policies within a cloud environment. Among the given options, the most relevant to host compliance is ensuring compliant Docker daemon configuration. Docker daemon configurations are critical for securing the host environment where containers are run. A compliant Docker daemon configuration involves setting security-related options to ensure the Docker engine operates securely. This can include configurations related to TLS for secure communication, logging levels, authorization plugins, and user namespace remapping for isolation.

Ensuring functions are not overly permissive (Option A) and ensuring images are created with a non-root user (Option C) are more directly related to the security best practices for serverless functions and container images, respectively, rather than host-specific compliance checks. Ensuring host devices are not directly exposed to containers (Option B) is also important for security, but it falls under the broader category of container runtime security rather than host-specific compliance.

Thus, the most valid host compliance policy from the given options is to ensure a compliant Docker daemon configuration, as it directly impacts the security posture of the host environment in a containerized infrastructure. This aligns with best practices for securing Docker environments and is a common recommendation in container security guidelines, including those from Docker and cybersecurity frameworks.

References:

• Docker Documentation: Security configuration and best practices for Docker engine: https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/
• CIS Docker Benchmark: Providing consensus-based best practices for securing Docker environments: https://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/docker/

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks extends its cloud security capabilities to the development environment through the integration with Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) plugins. Among the available options, Visual Studio Code and IntelliJ are supported by Prisma Cloud as part of its Code Security features. These IDE plugins enable developers to incorporate security insights directly into their development workflows, facilitating early detection and remediation of vulnerabilities and compliance issues in the codebase. Visual Studio Code, known for its versatility and extensive plugin ecosystem, and IntelliJ, popular for its powerful coding assistance and ergonomic design, are both widely used by developers. The integration with Prisma Cloud allows for seamless scanning of code for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and compliance with security policies, fostering a DevSecOps culture by shifting security left into the early stages of the development lifecycle.

Anomaly policies in Prisma Cloud utilize Network flow logs (A) and Audit logs (B) to identify unusual network and user activities. Network flow logs provide visibility into the traffic flow across the network, helping detect anomalies in communication patterns that might indicate malicious activities or network misconfigurations. Audit logs record user actions within the system, offering insights into potentially unauthorized or suspicious operations that could compromise security. By analyzing these logs, anomaly policies can effectively pinpoint irregularities that deviate from established baselines, enabling timely detection and response to potential security threats.

In a Prisma Cloud environment where both agentless scanning and Defender-based scans (Host and Container Defenders) are configured, there is no inherent conflict between these two scanning methods. Both agentless scans and Defender scans are designed to complement each other, providing comprehensive coverage and depth in the security analysis of the environment. Agentless scans offer a broad, less intrusive overview, while Defender scans provide deep, detailed insights into the security posture. Therefore, both types of scans will run concurrently, enhancing the overall security visibility and protection of the environment without disabling or interfering with each other's operations.

Retrieving Prisma Cloud Console images involves accessing a specific registry provided by Palo Alto Networks and authenticating using basic authentication with 'docker login'. Once authenticated, the user can pull the Prisma Cloud Console images using the 'docker pull' command. This process is part of the initial setup for deploying Prisma Cloud Console in an environment, allowing users to obtain the necessary images to run the Console, which serves as the central management interface for Prisma Cloud. The detailed steps, including the specific registry URL and authentication method, are typically provided in the Prisma Cloud documentation, ensuring that users have the information needed to successfully retrieve and deploy Console images.

CloudFormation templates, used to describe and provision all the infrastructure resources in cloud environments, support various elements including resources, mappings, parameters, and outputs. However, scan support for CloudFormation templates does not currently exist for nested references, macros, or intrinsic functions (option A). These advanced CloudFormation features can introduce complexity in scanning and interpreting the templates accurately for security and compliance checks.

To terminate any Container from the image "topSecret:latest" when a process named "ransomWare" is executed, the administrator should create a new runtime policy in Prisma Cloud Compute specifically targeting the container in question. By adding the "ransomWare" process to the denied process list within this policy and setting the action to "prevent," Prisma Cloud Compute will actively monitor for the execution of the specified process within the targeted container and take preventive action to terminate the container if the process is detected. This approach allows for precise, targeted security measures that address specific threats identified by the organization, thereby enhancing the overall security posture and protecting sensitive workloads from potential compromise.

In the context of associating Prisma Cloud policies with compliance frameworks, the most appropriate option is "Custom compliance." Prisma Cloud provides a comprehensive set of security and compliance policies that can be applied to cloud environments. While predefined policies cover a wide range of compliance standards and best practices, every organization has unique requirements and may follow specific compliance frameworks that are not directly included in the predefined policies. Custom compliance allows organizations to define their own compliance frameworks and associate specific Prisma Cloud policies with these custom frameworks. This flexibility ensures that organizations can maintain compliance with their specific regulatory and industry standards, tailoring the Prisma Cloud policies to meet their unique compliance needs. Custom compliance frameworks can be created within Prisma Cloud to include a collection of policies that address the specific controls and requirements of the organization's chosen compliance standards, providing a tailored approach to cloud security and compliance.

In the MITRE ATT&CK framework, the tactic "Exploit Public-Facing Application" is categorized under Initial Access. This tactic involves leveraging vulnerabilities in public-facing applications to gain unauthorized access to an organization's external services or applications. Initial Access tactics are concerned with the methods adversaries use to gain an initial foothold within a network, and exploiting public-facing applications is a common approach used by attackers to breach external defenses and establish a presence within a target network.

In Prisma Cloud, to automatically enable all severity levels for alerts, a user would need to navigate to the Policies section, then to Settings. Within this area, there is an option for "auto-enable default policies," which, when checked for all severity levels, ensures that any default policies related to those severities are automatically activated. This is a configuration setting that streamlines the alerting process by ensuring that all relevant severity levels are covered by the default policies without the need for manual intervention.

In Prisma Cloud, the Resource Query Language (RQL) is used as a sophisticated querying language that enables deep inspection and analysis of cloud resources, configurations, and metadata. RQL is particularly adept at scanning Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates because it allows for granular querying of cloud resources and their attributes, including those defined within IaC templates such as Terraform and CloudFormation. This capability is essential for identifying potential security risks, misconfigurations, and compliance issues within the infrastructure code before it's deployed, ensuring that cloud environments are secure from the outset.