Pass the Paloalto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Associate Apprentice Questions and answers with Dumpstech

A HIDS directly integrates with an endpoint or host and monitors activity on that system. It can evaluate logs, file changes, processes, authentication activity, configuration changes, and local indicators that may not be visible on the network. This makes it a last line of defense because it can detect suspicious activity after traffic has reached the host or when malicious activity occurs locally. A NIDS monitors traffic on a network segment rather than being installed on each individual endpoint. Answer A incorrectly describes network-based detection as endpoint-installed. Answer B is awkwardly worded and less precise than answer C. Answer D incorrectly assigns endpoint integration to NIDS. HIDS and NIDS are complementary. NIDS provides broad network visibility, while HIDS provides deep host-level visibility. Security teams use both types of telemetry to understand attack scope and confirm whether suspicious network behavior resulted in endpoint compromise. Reference/topics: Cybersecurity 1.4, IDS, HIDS, and NIDS; Endpoint Security 4.3, host-based controls.

DHCP provides IP addressing information to a client. When a device joins a network, it can request configuration from a DHCP server instead of requiring manual assignment. The server leases an IP address to the client and may also provide subnet mask, default gateway, DNS server, lease duration, and other options. DHCP does not provide a MAC address; the MAC address is assigned to the network interface by the hardware vendor. It does not provide a security zone, which is a firewall or segmentation concept. It also does not assign a port range in the normal client addressing process. DHCP is important operationally because it reduces manual configuration and supports scalable network management. It is also useful in investigations because DHCP lease records can help map an IP address observed in logs to the device that used it at a specific time. Reference/topics: Network Fundamentals 2.4, DHCP; Network Fundamentals 2.3, default gateway.

The desired outcome of SOC automation is increased efficiency. Automation allows repetitive, time-sensitive, and well-defined tasks to be executed consistently without requiring manual analyst effort every time. Examples include indicator enrichment, alert deduplication, ticket creation, endpoint isolation, user notification, or evidence collection. Automation should reduce workload, improve response speed, and help analysts spend more time on judgment-heavy investigation. Increasing the number of alerts is not desirable; alert volume should be reduced or better prioritized. Increasing MTTR is also undesirable because mean time to respond or recover should decrease as processes mature. Increasing false positives is harmful because it consumes analyst time and can cause alert fatigue. In a mature SOC, automation is often paired with playbooks and SOAR tooling so that repeatable response steps can be executed reliably while still allowing analyst approval for sensitive actions. Reference/topics: Security Operations 6.2, automation and AI; Security Operations 6.6, SOAR and SIEM.

Infrastructure as a Service provides cloud-hosted infrastructure resources such as compute, storage, and networking. In IaaS, the customer uses provider-operated hardware resources without owning the physical servers, racks, power, cooling, or data center facilities. The customer typically remains responsible for securing operating systems, applications, data, identities, and workload configurations. PaaS provides a managed platform for developing and deploying applications, where the provider handles more of the runtime environment. SaaS delivers a complete application that customers consume directly. NaaS delivers networking capabilities as a service. The phrase “hardware resources from a cloud service provider” points directly to IaaS because the customer consumes virtualized infrastructure backed by provider hardware. Security teams must understand IaaS because it creates a shared responsibility boundary: the provider secures the physical infrastructure, while the customer secures what they build, configure, and run on top of it. Reference/topics: Cloud Security 5.2, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, NaaS; Cloud Security 5.3, shared responsibility.