Cisco 350-701 Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 1 Q1-20

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Question 1: 

Which Cisco technology provides segmentation and policy enforcement based on user identity rather than IP addresses? 

A. Cisco ASA
B. Cisco Firepower NGFW
C. Cisco TrustSec
D. Cisco Umbrella

Answer: C

Explanation:

Cisco TrustSec is a software-defined security architecture that focuses on segmentation and policy enforcement using identity-based attributes instead of traditional IP addressing. In legacy network designs, security access policies are often written using IP subnets, VLANs, or specific host addresses. This becomes difficult to manage as networks scale or when users are mobile, moving across different subnets and access points. Cisco TrustSec simplifies this by introducing Security Group Tags (SGTs), which are identity-based attributes assigned dynamically to users, devices, or services when they authenticate onto the network.

When a device connects, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) assigns an SGT based on identity, role, or posture. These tags travel with the traffic through the network, allowing network devices like switches, routers, and firewalls to enforce policies without needing to know IP addresses or VLAN assignments. For example, if a user from the HR department connects through Wi-Fi or wired LAN, the same “HR-SGT” can follow that user’s traffic regardless of physical location. Cisco TrustSec-enabled devices use these tags to apply Security Group Access Control Lists (SGACLs) that define which groups can communicate.

This identity-based model is critical for implementing Zero Trust architectures, as it ensures that access is dynamically defined based on user context and device security posture, rather than static network location. Cisco ASA and Firepower NGFW provide traditional access control at network or application layers, but they do not inherently provide identity-based segmentation. Cisco Umbrella focuses on DNS-layer security and content filtering at the internet boundary, which is a different layer of defense.

Another key benefit of TrustSec is simplified policy management. Instead of maintaining hundreds of IP-based ACLs that need constant updates when networks change, administrators define a small matrix of group-to-group relationships. These policies are centrally managed in Cisco ISE and propagated network-wide. For instance, a rule like “Finance group can access Accounting Servers group but not HR Servers group” is applied across the entire network using SGTs, without worrying about IP address changes.

Additionally, Cisco TrustSec is highly scalable and integrates with software-defined networking (SDN) platforms like Cisco DNA Center, where administrators can design, deploy, and monitor segmentation policies visually. It also supports dynamic environments such as wireless networks, virtual machines, and cloud workloads through consistent tagging and policy enforcement.

In summary, Cisco TrustSec represents a significant shift from traditional IP-based segmentation toward identity-based, context-aware security enforcement. It enables organizations to reduce complexity, improve agility, and enhance visibility into who is accessing what within the network, aligning closely with modern Zero Trust and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) principles.

Question 2: 

Which protocol is primarily used by Cisco ISE to communicate posture assessment results to a network access device?

A. RADIUS
B. TACACS+
C. SNMP
D. LDAP

Answer: A. RADIUS

Explanation:

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is a powerful platform for network access control (NAC), identity management, and policy enforcement. One of its core functions is posture assessment, which determines whether an endpoint complies with defined security requirements before allowing or restricting access. To communicate posture results and enforce corresponding policies on network devices such as switches, wireless LAN controllers (WLCs), or VPN concentrators, Cisco ISE primarily uses the RADIUS protocol.

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) operates at the application layer using UDP ports 1812 for authentication and 1813 for accounting. It facilitates AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) between network access devices (known as RADIUS clients) and ISE (the RADIUS server). During the access process, RADIUS messages carry user identity, authentication credentials, and additional authorization attributes such as VLAN assignments, ACLs, or downloadable ACLs (dACLs). These attributes determine what level of network access is granted.

In the context of posture assessment, RADIUS plays a crucial role after Cisco AnyConnect or a posture agent running on the endpoint sends health information—like antivirus status, OS patch level, or running services—to ISE. Based on the posture evaluation, ISE uses RADIUS CoA (Change of Authorization) messages to instruct the network access device to change the client’s access state. For example, if a device fails posture, ISE may send a RADIUS CoA to move it into a quarantine VLAN or apply a restrictive ACL until remediation occurs. Once the posture becomes compliant, another CoA restores full access.

TACACS+ differs fundamentally from RADIUS. While both provide AAA, TACACS+—a Cisco proprietary protocol—focuses mainly on administrative access control for network devices (such as router or switch login sessions) rather than user or endpoint access to the network. TACACS+ also separates authentication and authorization processes and uses TCP for transport, making it reliable for command-level authorization but unsuitable for posture communication.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is designed for monitoring and device management, not access control or posture communication. LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is often integrated for user identity lookup against Active Directory but doesn’t carry policy or posture enforcement data to network access devices.

Therefore, in Cisco NAC frameworks, RADIUS is indispensable for secure and dynamic enforcement. It allows Cisco ISE to act as the policy decision point (PDP), while the network devices serve as policy enforcement points (PEPs). This division of roles enables scalable and real-time policy enforcement, ensuring that only compliant and authenticated users or devices are granted the appropriate network access based on their posture, status, identity, and contextual attributes.

Question 3: 

In Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD), what is the main function of a pre-filter policy?

A. To define URL filtering before access control rules
B. To perform traffic filtering before inspection
C. To log packets dropped by the access policy
D. To configure SNMP monitoring

Answer: B. To perform traffic filtering before inspection

Explanation:

A pre-filter policy in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) is designed to make high-level decisions about traffic before it undergoes deep packet inspection (DPI) or analysis by the Firepower engine. This function is critical for optimizing performance and ensuring that unnecessary processing resources are not wasted on traffic that doesn’t require full inspection.

When network traffic arrives at the Firepower device, it passes through multiple stages: interface-level checks, pre-filter policy evaluation, access control policy inspection, and then optional advanced features like intrusion prevention, malware detection, or URL filtering. The pre-filter policy sits early in this pipeline, allowing administrators to fast-track certain traffic types. For instance, you can configure pre-filter rules to fastpath trusted internal communications (e.g., site-to-site VPN traffic or heartbeat traffic between trusted servers) or to block unwanted protocols immediately before further processing.

One common use case is when high-throughput applications like backup or replication traffic need to bypass deep inspection to reduce latency and processing overhead. Pre-filter policies operate on parameters such as source/destination IPs, ports, zones, and protocols, and can be configured for fastpath (bypass inspection), block, or analyze further (send to access control) actions.

It’s important to understand that pre-filtering does not replace security inspection—it strategically selects which traffic warrants inspection. By implementing pre-filter rules, network administrators can ensure that the FTD device dedicates its inspection capacity to meaningful, potentially risky traffic, thereby maintaining high throughput and low latency for trusted flows.

Unlike access control policies, pre-filter policies do not support advanced features like application-layer inspection or URL categorization. Their goal is purely to control which flows are handed off to deeper inspection layers. The configuration of pre-filter policies is done through the Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC), which manages multiple FTD devices centrally.

This feature is especially relevant in high-performance environments, where even small gains in efficiency can make a significant difference. In a typical enterprise deployment, network engineers might configure pre-filters to allow internal data center communications or VPN tunnels to bypass inspection while ensuring external or Internet-bound traffic goes through the full inspection pipeline.

Question 4: 

Which Cisco solution provides cloud-delivered security for users accessing the Internet directly or through VPN?

A. Cisco DNA Center
B. Cisco Umbrella
C. Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
D. Cisco Duo

Answer: B. Cisco Umbrella

Explanation: 

Cisco Umbrella is a cloud-native, DNS-layer security solution that protects users wherever they connect — in the office, on public Wi-Fi, or over a VPN. It acts as the first line of defense by inspecting DNS requests before a connection is established. When a user tries to visit a website or application, Umbrella checks the domain against Cisco’s global threat intelligence database. If the domain is known to host malware, phishing, or command-and-control activity, the request is blocked instantly. Because this filtering happens at the DNS level, threats are stopped long before they can reach the endpoint.

Umbrella also includes a secure web gateway and cloud-delivered firewall features for more granular URL and port-based control, giving organizations visibility into all outbound traffic. It integrates with Cisco AnyConnect, allowing the same policy enforcement for remote users who are connected through VPN or working off the corporate network.

Cisco Umbrella is part of the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, combining networking and security in the cloud. It provides consistent protection without requiring on-premises hardware. Cisco DNA Center, by contrast, manages and automates network infrastructure. AnyConnect is the VPN client software that provides secure connectivity but not threat filtering. Duo offers multi-factor authentication and device trust but doesn’t inspect web traffic.

By moving security enforcement to the cloud, Cisco Umbrella simplifies deployment, enhances performance, and delivers continuous threat protection regardless of user location or device. It’s especially valuable for modern hybrid work environments where traditional perimeter defenses are insufficient.

Question 5: 

Which feature allows Cisco Firepower to correlate multiple security events from various sources into a single security incident?

A. Intrusion policy
B. Correlation policy
C. Access control policy
D. Prefilter policy

Answer: B. Correlation policy

Explanation: 

A correlation policy in Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) enables security teams to analyze and associate related security events occurring across the network, consolidating them into a single, contextualized incident. Rather than evaluating every alert in isolation, correlation policies identify meaningful patterns, relationships, or sequences of activity that could signify an ongoing attack, coordinated intrusion, or persistent threat. This capability enhances situational awareness and provides analysts with a comprehensive view of network security posture.

For example, if multiple intrusion alerts, malware detections, and access control rule matches originate from the same host or network segment, Firepower can automatically combine these individual indicators into a unified correlation event. This aggregation helps analysts quickly recognize the broader context of an attack instead of investigating each alert separately. Each correlation rule within a policy is built from one or more conditions that define what to look for — including event types, specific network attributes, or time windows in which the events must occur. When these conditions are met, the policy triggers a predefined response, such as generating a correlation alert, blocking suspicious activity, or adding the affected host to a watchlist or host group for continued monitoring.

Correlation policies operate as part of Firepower’s advanced event analysis framework, which aims to minimize alert fatigue, streamline investigation workflows, and support faster incident response. They complement other Firepower policy types, including intrusion, access control, and pre-filter policies, by functioning at a higher level of analysis. While intrusion policies focus on detecting malicious packet-level behavior, and access control policies determine which network traffic is allowed or denied, correlation policies interpret how multiple lower-level events might connect to form a larger attack scenario. Pre-filter policies, meanwhile, handle early traffic classification to optimize system performance and focus analysis on relevant traffic.

These correlation capabilities are particularly valuable in complex enterprise environments that use multiple sensors and diverse detection mechanisms. By automatically linking related events across systems, correlation policies help prioritize the most critical incidents, reduce redundant alerts, and facilitate coordinated defensive actions. This approach supports modern security operations practices such as threat hunting, behavioral analysis, and incident correlation — emphasizing context-driven detection rather than reliance solely on individual signatures or isolated alerts. In essence, Cisco FMC’s correlation policies transform raw event data into actionable intelligence, empowering security teams to identify sophisticated threats more efficiently and respond to them with greater precision and confidence.

Question 6: 

Which of the following is a key function of Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Networks?

A. Malware sandboxing and retrospective analysis
B. DNS-layer blocking
C. SSL decryption and certificate pinning
D. Identity-based access control

Answer: A. Malware sandboxing and retrospective analysis

Explanation: 

Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Networks is an advanced threat detection and prevention solution that monitors files and network traffic for malicious behavior. One of its defining capabilities is retrospective analysis, which means AMP continues to analyze files and network activities even after the initial inspection. If a file originally appeared safe but is later determined to be malicious based on new threat intelligence, AMP generates a retrospective alert to notify administrators that the file has turned malicious.

AMP integrates closely with Cisco Threat Grid, a malware-sandboxing technology that detonates suspicious files in an isolated environment to observe their behavior safely. The sandbox examines indicators such as file system changes, registry modifications, or network connections to determine whether the file exhibits malicious characteristics. The results feed back into the AMP cloud intelligence database, improving detection for all customers.

Unlike DNS-layer security (provided by Cisco Umbrella), AMP focuses on file and network-level malware protection. It can analyze traffic flowing through Cisco Firepower devices or other network sensors, scanning for known signatures, behaviors, or patterns that suggest compromise. AMP also supports integration with endpoints via AMP for Endpoints, creating visibility across the entire attack continuum — before, during, and after an attack.

This continuous monitoring and retrospective capability make AMP particularly effective against advanced persistent threats (APTs) and polymorphic malware that evolve over time. By combining sandboxing, signature-based detection, and cloud analytics, Cisco AMP delivers a layered defense that provides deep visibility into file behavior and network activity, helping organizations respond faster to evolving threats.

Question 7: 

Which VPN protocol supports IKEv2 and is best suited for remote-access VPNs on Cisco ASA and FTD?

A. L2TP
B. SSL
C. IPsec
D. PPTP

Answer: C. IPsec

Explanation:

The IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) framework, particularly when implemented with the IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) protocol, is the recommended method for establishing secure remote-access VPNs on Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense devices. IPsec provides end-to-end encryption, integrity, and authentication for data transmitted across untrusted networks like the Internet.

IKEv2 is an enhancement over earlier versions (IKEv1) because it supports faster rekeying, mobility, and multihoming extensions (MOBIKE), which are critical for modern users switching between Wi-Fi and mobile networks. Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client uses IPsec/IKEv2 to establish encrypted tunnels between endpoints and VPN gateways, ensuring confidentiality and integrity for all traffic.

SSL VPNs are another popular remote-access method, often used for browser-based access or when firewall restrictions prevent IPsec. However, IPsec with IKEv2 offers stronger security, better performance, and native integration with modern operating systems. L2TP and PPTP are legacy protocols that rely on older encryption mechanisms and are no longer recommended for enterprise security.

In a Cisco ASA or FTD environment, administrators can configure IPsec remote-access VPNs through the CLI or Firepower Management Center (FMC). Policies can enforce user authentication, assign IP addresses, and apply split-tunneling rules. IPsec’s combination of confidentiality, data integrity, and authentication makes it the backbone of secure enterprise connectivity, ensuring reliable access for remote users while maintaining high security standards aligned with modern cryptographic practices.

Question 8: 

Which Cisco technology allows for centralized management of multiple Firepower devices?

A. Cisco Prime Infrastructure
B. Cisco FMC
C. Cisco SecureX
D. Cisco DNA Center

Answer: B. Cisco FMC

Explanation:

The Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) is the centralized management platform for all Cisco Firepower devices, including Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliances, NGIPS sensors, and virtual firewalls. FMC provides a single graphical interface to configure security policies, monitor events, analyze traffic, and generate reports across distributed deployments.

Administrators can define access control rules, intrusion policies, SSL decryption settings, and correlation policies in one location, then deploy those configurations consistently to multiple devices. This centralized approach simplifies management, reduces configuration errors, and enables unified visibility across the entire network security environment.

FMC also provides detailed dashboards that display intrusion events, malware detections, connection statistics, and performance metrics. Integration with Cisco SecureX extends this visibility further by correlating Firepower telemetry with endpoint and cloud data, enhancing incident response.

Other Cisco management tools serve different purposes: Cisco Prime Infrastructure focuses on network device monitoring and lifecycle management, not security policy enforcement. Cisco DNA Center manages intent-based network automation and assurance for switches and wireless infrastructure. Cisco SecureX is a higher-level orchestration and threat-response platform that aggregates alerts but does not configure Firepower devices directly.

By consolidating configuration, logging, and analytics in one console, Cisco FMC enables efficient operations for network and security teams, ensuring consistent enforcement and rapid response across physical and virtual security appliances deployed enterprise-wide.

Question 9: 

Which protocol does Cisco Stealthwatch primarily use for network telemetry collection?

A. SNMP
B. NetFlow
C. RADIUS
D. ICMP

Answer: B. NetFlow

Explanation:

Cisco Stealthwatch, now known as Cisco Secure Network Analytics, relies on NetFlow and its enhanced version, Flexible NetFlow, to collect telemetry data from network devices. NetFlow records metadata about each network flow — such as source and destination IPs, ports, protocols, packet counts, and byte volumes — without capturing the full payload. This approach allows comprehensive visibility into traffic patterns while maintaining performance and privacy.

By analyzing NetFlow data, Stealthwatch can identify anomalies such as data exfiltration, internal reconnaissance, or peer-to-peer activity. It builds behavioral baselines for every device, then flags deviations that may indicate compromise or insider threats. For example, if a workstation suddenly starts transferring large volumes of data to an unfamiliar external host, Stealthwatch can raise an alarm even if the traffic uses legitimate ports like 443.

Stealthwatch’s analytics engine correlates flow data from routers, switches, firewalls, and cloud environments, providing centralized visibility across the entire enterprise. This makes it an essential component of Cisco’s network-centric detection strategy. SNMP is used primarily for device management and monitoring metrics like CPU or interface status, not flow analysis. RADIUS is used for authentication, and ICMP is limited to basic connectivity checks.

Because NetFlow metadata is lightweight and already supported on most Cisco devices, deploying Stealthwatch requires minimal infrastructure changes. It complements other Cisco security solutions such as Firepower and ISE by offering network-behavior analytics and threat detection based on actual traffic patterns, not just signatures or policies.

Question 10: 

Which Cisco security architecture integrates zero-trust principles for the workplace, workload, and workforce?

A. Cisco SD-WAN
B. Cisco DNA Assurance
C. Cisco Zero Trust Architecture
D. Cisco ISE

Answer: C. Cisco Zero Trust Architecture

Explanation:

Cisco’s Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) is a holistic security model built around the principle of “never trust, always verify.” It ensures that every user, device, and application is authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated before gaining or maintaining access to resources. Cisco divides its Zero Trust framework into three primary pillars: workforce, workplace, and workload.

The workforce pillar focuses on user identity and device trust, leveraging technologies like Cisco Duo for multi-factor authentication, endpoint verification, and adaptive access control. The workplace pillar secures access to the corporate network using Cisco ISE, TrustSec, and software-defined segmentation, ensuring that only verified and compliant devices communicate on the network. The workload pillar protects applications and data across private and public clouds using Cisco Secure Workload (formerly Tetration), providing visibility and microsegmentation for east-west traffic.

Together, these components create an environment where access decisions are dynamic and context-aware, based on identity, device posture, and environmental conditions. Cisco SD-WAN and DNA Assurance enhance connectivity and performance but are not comprehensive zero-trust solutions by themselves. Cisco ISE is a critical element within the Zero Trust Architecture but does not encompass all three pillars.

By integrating identity, segmentation, analytics, and automation, Cisco’s Zero Trust approach helps organizations reduce attack surfaces, contain breaches, and comply with modern security frameworks like NIST 800-207. It forms the foundation for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and hybrid work security strategies that protect users and data regardless of location or device type.

Question 11: 

Which tool within Cisco SecureX allows for visualizing threat intelligence and relationships among entities?

A. Cisco Secure Analytics
B. Cisco Threat Response (CTR)
C. Cisco Umbrella Investigate
D. Cisco AMP Console

Answer: B. Cisco Threat Response (CTR)

Explanation: 

Cisco Threat Response (CTR), now integrated within the Cisco SecureX platform, is a powerful investigation and threat correlation tool that allows security analysts to visualize and understand the relationships between various indicators of compromise (IOCs). It provides a graphical interface that displays how different entities — such as IP addresses, domains, files, and email addresses — relate to each other and to ongoing incidents within the environment.

CTR gathers data from multiple Cisco security products, including Cisco Umbrella, Firepower, AMP for Endpoints, Email Security, and Talos Threat Intelligence, as well as third-party integrations. This integration creates a single pane of glass for analysts to perform contextual investigations quickly without switching between multiple dashboards. By automatically enriching alerts with threat intelligence from Cisco Talos and other sources, CTR helps analysts move from detection to understanding and remediation faster.

The visual graph capability in CTR displays threat entities as interconnected nodes, allowing users to trace how an infection spreads, which systems are affected, and where the initial compromise occurred. This is crucial in reducing mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR).

Cisco Umbrella Investigate focuses specifically on DNS and domain intelligence, while AMP Console manages endpoint malware detections. Cisco Secure Analytics (formerly Stealthwatch) provides network behavioral analytics but does not visualize IOCs.

In essence, Cisco Threat Response enhances operational efficiency by enabling analysts to pivot through data intuitively, correlate incidents automatically, and respond rapidly. Its integration with SecureX ensures unified visibility and automation across the Cisco Secure ecosystem, making it a vital component for modern security operations centers (SOCs) implementing a Zero Trust and extended detection and response (XDR) strategy.

Question 12: 

In Cisco ASA, what does the “inspect icmp” command achieve when applied in a policy map?

A. Blocks ICMP traffic
B. Tracks ICMP requests and replies for stateful inspection
C. Logs ICMP packets for NetFlow analysis
D. Enables deep packet inspection for ICMP over SSL

Answer: B. Tracks ICMP requests and replies for stateful inspection

Explanation:

The “inspect icmp” command in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) devices is part of the Modular Policy Framework (MPF) and enables stateful inspection of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic. Normally, ASA is a stateful firewall that maintains connection tables for TCP and UDP traffic, but ICMP, being a connectionless protocol, does not inherently maintain sessions. Without inspection, ASA would only allow ICMP requests in one direction, often causing issues with return echo replies.

By applying “inspect icmp” within a policy map, the ASA dynamically tracks each ICMP echo request and automatically permits the corresponding echo reply. This allows network administrators to enable troubleshooting tools like “ping” or “traceroute” while maintaining proper firewall state awareness. Essentially, ASA learns the session state for each ICMP exchange and ensures that only legitimate reply packets matching existing sessions are allowed back through the firewall.

This behavior enhances both functionality and security. Without it, administrators would need to create static ACLs to allow inbound ICMP replies, which could inadvertently expose the network to unwanted ICMP traffic. The inspect command eliminates this need by managing ICMP flows dynamically.

Logging and NetFlow collection for ICMP traffic are handled separately and are not functions of the inspect feature. Similarly, SSL decryption does not apply to ICMP since it is not an encrypted protocol.

Overall, “inspect icmp” provides a balance between strict firewall control and network diagnostic flexibility. It’s especially useful in enterprise environments where ping monitoring and latency testing are required, as it allows such traffic to operate normally while still adhering to stateful firewall principles.

Question 13: 

Which Cisco solution uses behavioral analytics to detect insider threats and compromised accounts?

A. Cisco Umbrella
B. Cisco Stealthwatch
C. Cisco AnyConnect
D. Cisco ISE

Answer: B. Cisco Stealthwatch

Explanation:

Cisco Stealthwatch, now known as Cisco Secure Network Analytics, leverages advanced behavioral analytics to detect insider threats, compromised devices, and malicious network activity based on traffic patterns rather than signatures. Unlike traditional intrusion detection systems that rely on predefined attack signatures, Stealthwatch analyzes NetFlow or Flexible NetFlow telemetry collected from routers, switches, firewalls, and virtual environments.

By building behavioral baselines for every device, user, and segment, Stealthwatch can identify deviations that indicate potential security incidents. For instance, if a user account suddenly starts transferring large volumes of data to external destinations or communicating with unusual internal hosts, Stealthwatch raises an alert for possible data exfiltration or lateral movement. This capability is vital for detecting insider threats and zero-day attacks that bypass signature-based detection systems.

The solution also integrates with Cisco ISE to enrich telemetry with user identity information. This allows security teams to link anomalous network behaviors directly to specific users or devices, improving investigation accuracy. Stealthwatch provides powerful analytics using machine learning, which helps uncover threats such as command-and-control (C2) communications, botnet activity, and unauthorized VPN tunnels.

Cisco Umbrella focuses on DNS-level protection, and AnyConnect provides endpoint connectivity rather than analytics. Cisco ISE enforces access policies but does not perform continuous traffic analysis.

By combining behavioral modeling, flow telemetry, and identity context, Cisco Stealthwatch enables organizations to transition from reactive to proactive threat detection. It helps reduce dwell time by revealing hidden threats inside the network that traditional perimeter defenses might miss. This aligns closely with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and network visibility best practices, providing actionable intelligence for faster incident response.

Question 14: 

Which function does Cisco ISE perform when integrated with a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)?

A. Provides NetFlow analysis
B. Provides dynamic VLAN assignment and posture enforcement
C. Provides firewall rule automation
D. Provides SSL inspection

Answer: B. Provides dynamic VLAN assignment and posture enforcement

Explanation: 

When Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) integrates with a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC), it enables advanced identity-based network access control through RADIUS-based communication. This integration allows the WLC to authenticate users and devices using credentials (e.g., 802.1X) and receive dynamic authorization attributes from ISE. One of the most common uses is dynamic VLAN assignment, where ISE places users into specific VLANs based on identity, role, or posture.

For example, corporate employees might be assigned to a secure internal VLAN, while guests are placed in an isolated guest VLAN. ISE can also enforce posture policies — verifying device compliance such as OS updates, antivirus status, or security software presence before granting full access. If a device fails the posture check, ISE can use a RADIUS Change of Authorization (CoA) message to move it into a quarantine VLAN or apply restricted access until it becomes compliant.

This integration provides granular, context-aware control over wireless access, reducing the risk of unauthorized connections or infected devices compromising the network. Unlike NetFlow analysis tools such as Stealthwatch, ISE does not monitor traffic patterns. It also does not automate firewall rules or perform SSL inspection — its primary purpose is access control and authentication.

Cisco ISE and WLC integration forms a critical part of a Zero Trust Network Access strategy. It ensures that only authenticated and compliant devices can access network resources, automatically enforcing policies across the wireless infrastructure. This dynamic, identity-driven approach enhances both security and user experience by centralizing control and minimizing manual configuration.

Question 15: 

Which Cisco security solution provides DNS-based content filtering?

A. Cisco AMP
B. Cisco Umbrella
C. Cisco ASA
D. Cisco AnyConnect

Answer: B. Cisco Umbrella

Explanation:

Cisco Umbrella delivers DNS-layer security and content filtering, protecting users from malicious domains, phishing sites, and command-and-control infrastructure. When a user attempts to connect to a website, Umbrella intercepts the DNS request and checks it against Cisco’s global threat intelligence database. If the domain is known or suspected to be malicious, Umbrella blocks the connection before it is established, effectively stopping threats in their earliest stage.

This DNS-level approach makes Umbrella highly efficient, as it requires no inline hardware and introduces minimal latency. In addition to blocking harmful domains, administrators can configure content filtering policies that restrict access to specific categories such as gambling, adult content, or social media, ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

Cisco Umbrella integrates seamlessly with Cisco AnyConnect clients, extending protection to remote users even when they are not connected to the corporate network. It is also a key component of Cisco’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, which unifies cloud-delivered networking and security.

Cisco AMP focuses on malware detection and file analysis, Cisco ASA provides firewall-based protection, and AnyConnect handles secure VPN connectivity. None of these solutions perform DNS-layer content filtering like Umbrella.

Overall, Cisco Umbrella provides fast, scalable, and proactive defense against a wide range of threats, making it a foundational layer of modern cloud security strategies. It protects both managed and unmanaged devices with minimal configuration effort while offering detailed visibility into DNS requests, blocked connections, and policy enforcement results.

Question 16: 

What is the primary purpose of Cisco Firepower’s “SSL Policy”?

A. To bypass all SSL-encrypted traffic
B. To inspect or decrypt encrypted traffic selectively
C. To apply rate limiting on HTTPS sessions
D. To apply antivirus filtering on decrypted packets only

Answer: B. To inspect or decrypt encrypted traffic selectively

Explanation:

Cisco Firepower’s SSL Policy controls how the system handles encrypted traffic such as HTTPS, SMTPS, or FTPS. With the rise of encryption across web traffic, a large portion of potential threats can be hidden within SSL/TLS tunnels. The SSL policy enables administrators to decrypt and inspect traffic selectively, ensuring that security mechanisms like intrusion detection, malware scanning, and URL filtering remain effective even with encryption in place.

The policy defines conditions under which decryption occurs — for example, based on certificate attributes, destination categories, or port numbers. Administrators can configure “Do Not Decrypt” rules for sensitive categories like banking or healthcare, maintaining user privacy while still decrypting other traffic for inspection. Firepower can use either SSL Decrypt – Resign (man-in-the-middle approach) or Decrypt – Known Key methods depending on the use case.

This selective inspection ensures compliance with privacy regulations while maximizing security coverage. If no SSL policy is defined, encrypted traffic may pass uninspected, creating blind spots.

Rate limiting or antivirus filtering are managed through other policy types such as QoS or access control. The SSL policy’s function is specific to encryption management.

In essence, Firepower’s SSL policy empowers organizations to balance user privacy and security visibility, allowing advanced threat detection without compromising sensitive encrypted communications.

Question 17: 

Which type of VPN is best suited for secure site-to-site communication between Cisco Firepower appliances?

A. SSL VPN
B. IPsec VPN
C. GRE Tunnel
D. MPLS

Answer: B. IPsec VPN

Explanation: 

An IPsec VPN (Internet Protocol Security Virtual Private Network) is the best choice for secure site-to-site communication between Cisco Firepower devices or other Cisco security appliances. IPsec operates at the network layer, encrypting all IP packets between the two endpoints, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and authentication across the untrusted Internet.

Site-to-site VPNs are ideal for connecting branch offices, data centers, or partner networks securely. Cisco Firepower devices use IKEv1 or IKEv2 protocols for key exchange and tunnel negotiation, creating encrypted tunnels that protect all traffic between the connected networks. Administrators can configure multiple VPN tunnels and apply access control rules to define which subnets are allowed to communicate.

GRE tunnels can encapsulate traffic but do not provide encryption or authentication on their own. SSL VPNs are primarily used for remote-access scenarios with individual clients, not persistent site connections. MPLS is a service provider technology that offers traffic engineering but relies on IPsec or other mechanisms for encryption if needed.

In a typical deployment, Firepower’s FMC is used to configure and monitor IPsec VPNs centrally, offering advanced capabilities such as failover, redundancy, and policy-based routing. IPsec’s combination of strong cryptographic protection and compatibility with modern security standards makes it the preferred choice for enterprise site-to-site secure connectivity.

Question 18: 

Which of the following is a characteristic of Cisco TACACS+ over RADIUS?

A. Uses UDP
B. Encrypts only the password
C. Separates authentication and authorization
D. Uses port 1812

Answer: C. Separates authentication and authorization

Explanation:

TACACS+ (Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus) is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that provides Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) services for administrative access to network devices. One of its key differences from RADIUS is that TACACS+ separates authentication, authorization, and accounting into distinct processes. This allows more granular control over what commands an administrator can execute after logging in.

TACACS+ uses TCP port 49, ensuring reliable delivery and full-packet encryption of the entire session, including both the username and authorization data. In contrast, RADIUS typically uses UDP ports 1812 and 1813 and only encrypts the user’s password field, leaving other attributes visible.

Because TACACS+ was designed for device administration rather than network access control, it is commonly deployed to authenticate administrators accessing routers, switches, and firewalls via SSH or console. It works seamlessly with Cisco ISE or Cisco Secure ACS as the central TACACS+ server.

The ability to control individual command authorization makes TACACS+ invaluable in large organizations where role-based access and accountability are critical. RADIUS, on the other hand, is better suited for end-user authentication for wireless, wired, or VPN access because it integrates more easily with access devices like WLCs and VPN concentrators.

By separating AAA functions and encrypting all communications, TACACS+ provides a more secure and flexible administrative access framework compared to RADIUS.

Question 19: 

Which Cisco technology enables consistent policy enforcement across multi-cloud environments?

A. Cisco Stealthwatch
B. Cisco Secure Workload (Tetration)
C. Cisco TrustSec
D. Cisco FMC

Answer: B. Cisco Secure Workload (Tetration)

Explanation:

Cisco Secure Workload, formerly known as Tetration, provides visibility, segmentation, and consistent policy enforcement across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It helps organizations implement microsegmentation by defining policies based on workload behavior rather than network topology.

The platform collects telemetry from multiple sources, including network flows, process activity, and application dependencies. Using this data, it builds an application dependency map that shows how workloads communicate across data centers and clouds. This insight enables administrators to define policies that permit only necessary connections, reducing attack surfaces significantly.

Policies defined in Secure Workload are enforced consistently whether applications run in on-premises data centers, public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP), or containerized environments like Kubernetes. The system uses machine learning to detect anomalies and identify deviations from normal communication patterns, improving both security and compliance.

While Cisco Stealthwatch focuses on network behavior analytics and Cisco TrustSec handles identity-based segmentation on campus networks, Secure Workload extends policy enforcement into application and cloud layers. Cisco FMC is the management platform for Firepower devices and does not handle workload-level enforcement.

By combining visibility, microsegmentation, and analytics, Cisco Secure Workload provides end-to-end control and compliance assurance in complex hybrid infrastructures. It plays a central role in Cisco’s Zero Trust “workload” pillar by securing applications wherever they reside.

Question 20: Which Cisco platform correlates security telemetry from endpoints, network, and cloud into a unified dashboard?

A. Cisco Prime
B. Cisco FMC
C. Cisco SecureX
D. Cisco Stealthwatch

Answer: C. Cisco SecureX

Explanation: 

Cisco SecureX is a cloud-native, integrated security platform that unifies visibility, automation, and orchestration across Cisco’s entire security portfolio and third-party products. It serves as a single interface that aggregates data from endpoints, network, email, and cloud systems to provide comprehensive situational awareness and faster threat response.

SecureX connects products such as Cisco Firepower, AMP for Endpoints, Umbrella, Duo, and Stealthwatch. By correlating telemetry from these sources, SecureX provides a single dashboard where analysts can visualize incidents, automate investigations, and trigger response workflows. Its orchestration feature allows teams to automate repetitive tasks such as blocking malicious domains, isolating endpoints, or opening tickets in security information and event management (SIEM) systems.

Unlike FMC, which manages Firepower devices, or Prime, which focuses on network infrastructure management, SecureX spans multiple domains. It integrates with Cisco Threat Response for investigation, Secure Endpoint for malware analysis, and Secure Workload for cloud visibility, among others.

By breaking down silos between security tools, SecureX improves efficiency and enables a more cohesive defense posture. Its centralized view and automation capabilities significantly reduce response time to incidents, making it a cornerstone of Cisco’s extended detection and response (XDR) ecosystem.