Cisco 350-701 Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 10 Q181-200

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Question 181:

Which Cisco solution allows dynamic quarantine of endpoints detected as compromised?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco Firepower is a robust next-generation security platform that focuses primarily on network-level protection, traffic inspection, intrusion prevention, and application control. While it plays a critical role in safeguarding perimeter and internal network flows, its architecture is not designed to perform endpoint-level containment. Firepower enforces security policies, drops malicious packets, and detects attack patterns, but it cannot directly quarantine or isolate a compromised laptop, workstation, or server once malicious activity is detected at the endpoint level.

Cisco AMP for Endpoints, on the other hand, provides continuous monitoring, retrospective security, behavior analytics, and real-time endpoint visibility. When malicious behavior is detected—whether it involves ransomware activity, unknown executable behavior, suspicious file modifications, or policy violations—AMP can dynamically isolate that specific endpoint within seconds. This isolation mechanism creates an enforced communication barrier that prevents the compromised device from interacting laterally with other systems, thereby stopping propagation of malware, C2 callbacks, data exfiltration attempts, and further contamination. The network continues functioning normally while the infected endpoint is securely contained. Administrators can then initiate forensic analysis, file trajectory review, automatic cleanup, or manual remediation actions. AMP’s isolation feature is critical in high-risk environments where rapid containment is essential to avoid widespread compromise.

Cisco Umbrella focuses on DNS-layer protection, filtering malicious domains, blocking phishing attempts, and preventing devices from reaching harmful destinations. Although incredibly powerful for pre-emptive blocking, Umbrella does not provide any mechanism to quarantine an individual endpoint after compromise.

Cisco Talos is a world-leading threat intelligence organization that analyzes malware, threat campaigns, exploits, and security trends. Talos feeds intelligence into Cisco security products, but it does not directly isolate or protect endpoints.

Therefore, AMP for Endpoints is the correct answer because it uniquely offers automated, dynamic, and targeted quarantine, allowing compromised devices to be isolated instantly while enabling detailed forensic investigation and ensuring broader network protection. Firepower, Umbrella, and Talos lack the endpoint-level containment and automated quarantine capabilities that AMP provides.

Question 182:

Which Cisco ISE feature provides network access for temporary visitors?

A. Posture Assessment
B. Guest Access
C. Device Administration
D. RBAC

Answer: B

Explanation:

Posture Assessment in Cisco ISE plays a vital role in ensuring endpoint compliance with corporate security policies by checking antivirus presence, patching status, OS integrity, and other health indicators. However, as important as this function is, it does not provide temporary guest credentials, onboarding portals, or visitor-specific access workflows.

Guest Access in Cisco ISE is specifically designed to provide secure, limited-duration access for visitors, contractors, customers, and non-corporate users who require connectivity without having permanent network credentials. It allows organizations to maintain strict security segmentation while still offering convenient access for guests. Through customizable captive portals, guests can authenticate using SMS codes, email verification links, self-registration forms, or sponsor-approved credentials. Administrators can configure expiration times, bandwidth limits, VLAN assignments, access restrictions, and auditing logs to ensure that guest activity is tracked and contained appropriately.

This feature is extremely valuable for enterprises, universities, hospitality environments, and corporate offices where guests frequently need internet access but should not gain internal resource visibility. Guest Access ensures that visitors remain isolated from sensitive systems, internal applications, privileged segments, and confidential data. The system automatically revokes access once the time-limited session expires, ensuring long-term security hygiene.

Device Administration is unrelated to guest access. It focuses on TACACS+ or RADIUS authentication for network equipment—routers, switches, firewalls, and other infrastructure devices—and determines what commands administrators can perform. Device Administration protects the management plane rather than providing onboarding capabilities for visitors.

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) is used to assign permissions based on the user’s job role or responsibilities. It is typically applied for employees and administrators, not for transient visitors. RBAC manages long-term access control rather than short-term, visitor-oriented provisioning.

Thus, Guest Access is the correct answer because it is explicitly engineered for temporary users requiring short-term network connectivity with controlled security boundaries. It provides the enrollment portals, sponsor approval methods, access expiration, and segmented permission models required to support visitors securely, while the other options focus on different aspects of network or administrative security.

Question 183:

Which Cisco Firepower capability blocks traffic from known malicious IP addresses and domains?

A. Access Control Policy
B. Security Intelligence Feeds
C. Intrusion Policy
D. URL Filtering

Answer: B

Explanation:

Access Control Policies within Cisco Firepower are essential for defining how traffic is allowed, denied, or logged based on attributes such as ports, protocols, applications, or IP ranges. However, Access Control by itself does not incorporate dynamic intelligence or real-time threat data about malicious domains and IP addresses. It is static in nature and relies on administrator-configured rules, offering no automated mechanism to block constantly evolving threat sources.

Security Intelligence Feeds, however, serve as Firepower’s dynamic defense layer. These feeds provide continuously updated threat information consisting of malicious IP addresses, command-and-control servers, ransomware-hosting infrastructures, botnet indicators, suspicious domains, and harmful URLs. Cisco leverages multiple intelligence sources including Talos, global telemetry analytics, threat research networks, and automated enrichment pipelines. As new threats emerge globally—even within minutes—Security Intelligence updates its block lists automatically, allowing Firepower devices to reject traffic from known malicious entities instantly.

This capability significantly reduces the risk window by blocking connections before they reach deeper layers of inspection. Instead of waiting for traffic to be analyzed by intrusion policies or allowing a potential threat to reach internal systems, Firepower proactively prevents harmful communication at the earliest stage. This approach mitigates threats such as malware callbacks, DDoS attempts, scanning activities, phishing distribution servers, and reconnaissance operations that originate from documented malicious sources.

Intrusion Policies are designed to analyze payloads deeply using signatures and anomaly rules. They detect malicious behavior but do not rely on real-time intelligence updates for known bad hosts. They operate after traffic has already passed the initial screening stage.

URL Filtering categorizes websites and blocks user access based on content categories, corporate policies, or compliance requirements. While useful for web control and risk reduction, URL Filtering is not intended to block malicious IPs or domain indicators tied to active cyberthreat campaigns.

Thus, Security Intelligence Feeds are the correct answer because they provide a proactive, automated mechanism for Firepower to block traffic from dangerous IPs and domains sourced from real-time global threat data. This continuous intelligence integration ensures consistent protection against rapidly shifting cyberattacks, something Access Control, Intrusion Policies, and URL Filtering cannot achieve independently.

Question 184:

Which Cisco solution inspects encrypted traffic to detect hidden threats?

A. Access Control Policy
B. Intrusion Policy
C. SSL/TLS Decryption
D. URL Filtering

Answer: C

Explanation:

Access Control Policies within Firepower govern basic traffic permissions, determining which flows are allowed or denied based on various packet attributes. However, they do not inspect encrypted payloads, which means threats hidden within SSL/TLS tunnels remain invisible when only basic access control is applied.

Intrusion Policies provide deep packet inspection using Snort signatures and behavioral analysis, but they cannot inspect encrypted activity unless the traffic is decrypted beforehand. Without decryption, encrypted packets appear opaque, preventing threat engines from analyzing malicious elements such as embedded malware, encrypted payloads, or hidden C2 communications.

SSL/TLS Decryption is therefore essential for unveiling threats concealed within encryption. As more than 80% of global internet traffic is now encrypted, attackers increasingly exploit SSL/TLS channels to distribute malware, hide exfiltration, and conduct stealth operations. Firepower’s SSL/TLS Decryption capability intercepts and decrypts traffic using a controlled and secure method. Once decrypted, the traffic is forwarded to Access Control, Intrusion Policies, Malware Protection, and other security layers for full inspection. After analysis, the system re-encrypts the session and forwards it to its destination without disrupting communication flow.

This approach reveals hidden threats such as encrypted malware downloads, spyware communication, phishing payload delivery, malicious JavaScript, obfuscated ransomware traffic, and encrypted exfiltration attempts. It also ensures compliance with corporate security policies requiring inspection of encrypted data flows without compromising confidentiality or user experience.

URL Filtering, while useful for controlling access to specific websites, does not decrypt or inspect encrypted traffic beyond evaluating the domain or URL category. It cannot analyze encrypted content or uncover hidden malicious operations within an encrypted stream.

Therefore, SSL/TLS Decryption is the correct choice because it enables Firepower to perform complete threat inspection inside encrypted sessions—something increasingly necessary in modern cybersecurity environments. Access Control, Intrusion Policies, and URL Filtering cannot provide this level of visibility or detection without SSL/TLS decryption acting as the foundational mechanism.

Question 185:

Which Cisco technology provides dynamic VLAN assignment based on endpoint compliance?

A. Posture Assessment
B. Guest Access
C. Device Administration
D. RBAC

Answer: A

Explanation:

Posture Assessment in Cisco ISE is designed to evaluate whether endpoints meet predefined organizational security standards before granting network access. This evaluation may include checking antivirus presence, operating system patch levels, firewall enablement, registry settings, disk encryption, process behavior, and other compliance indicators. When an endpoint connects to the network, ISE conducts an assessment using AnyConnect, NAC agents, or agentless methods to determine its compliance status.

Based on the results, ISE can dynamically assign the endpoint to a specific VLAN, enabling powerful network segmentation. Compliant endpoints may be placed in fully privileged VLANs where they receive unrestricted access to corporate resources. Non-compliant endpoints, however, may be placed into restricted VLANs, remediation networks, or quarantine zones where they are limited to accessing only patch servers, antivirus update servers, or help desk portals. This dynamic VLAN assignment enforces security boundaries and ensures that unhealthy or potentially risky devices do not gain access to sensitive parts of the environment.

Guest Access, although essential for providing temporary credentials to visitors, does not base VLAN assignment on endpoint compliance or perform health evaluations. Its primary function is to provide controlled, time-limited network access, not enforce device posture requirements.

Device Administration focuses on securing administrative access to infrastructure devices such as switches, firewalls, and routers using TACACS+ or RADIUS. It defines command authorization levels and controls what administrators can perform but has no role in endpoint VLAN assignment.

RBAC defines user roles and associated permissions for administrators and employees. It assigns logical access rights but does not dynamically control network segmentation based on device health.

Thus, Posture Assessment is the correct answer because it uniquely enables dynamic VLAN changes driven by endpoint compliance checks. It ensures that endpoints lacking proper security controls are prevented from accessing critical resources, reducing exposure to malware, vulnerabilities, insider threats, and policy violations. By automatically segmenting devices based on real-time posture results, Cisco ISE provides adaptive network access control that none of the other listed features can deliver.

Question 186:

Which Cisco solution integrates Threat Grid for sandbox malware analysis on endpoints?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco Firepower provides powerful network security features, including intrusion prevention, firewall enforcement, application visibility, and network analytics. While it can detect malicious traffic patterns and inspect payloads, it does not integrate directly with Threat Grid to conduct advanced sandbox analysis at the endpoint level.

Cisco AMP for Endpoints, however, is purpose-built to extend threat detection and analysis down to individual devices. Its integration with Cisco Threat Grid allows suspicious files to be submitted to a secure sandbox environment where the file can execute in isolation. The sandbox observes behavior such as process creation, memory manipulation, registry edits, network communications, exploit attempts, privilege escalation, persistence techniques, and other abnormal actions that may indicate malware activity—even when signatures do not yet exist.

Threat Grid generates detailed behavioral reports, threat scores, and indicators of compromise (IOCs). These results are fed back into AMP and the broader Cisco security ecosystem to improve detection accuracy and support automated remediation. AMP uses this intelligence to quarantine affected endpoints, remove malicious files, block related threats across the organization, and update cloud analytics.

Umbrella provides DNS-layer filtering and cloud-based threat prevention but cannot execute unknown files or perform behavioral sandboxing.

Cisco Talos offers global threat research, signature development, and threat intelligence curation. While Talos contributes insights used across Cisco products, it does not directly sandbox files on endpoints nor provide automated remediation workflows.

Thus, AMP for Endpoints is the correct answer because it uniquely integrates with Threat Grid to deliver comprehensive file analysis, advanced behavioral evaluation, and endpoint-level protection. The combination of continuous monitoring, retrospective detection, cloud intelligence, and sandboxing makes AMP an essential tool for identifying zero-day malware and preventing sophisticated attacks that traditional security systems may miss.

Question 187:

Which Cisco ISE feature evaluates endpoint health and grants or restricts network access?

A. Posture Assessment
B. Guest Access
C. Device Administration
D. RBAC

Answer: A

Explanation:

Posture Assessment is one of the core capabilities of Cisco ISE for ensuring that only secure, compliant, and trusted devices gain access to the network. When a device attempts to connect—whether on wired, wireless, or VPN—ISE evaluates its health status by assessing elements such as antivirus state, operating system version, patch level, firewall activation, disk encryption, running processes, and registry configurations. This evaluation may be performed using Cisco AnyConnect posture modules, ISE agents, or agentless scanning techniques.

Based on these results, ISE dynamically determines whether the device should be granted full access, restricted access, or placed into quarantine. Compliant devices that meet all defined security standards may receive normal connectivity to corporate applications and internal resources. Non-compliant devices may be redirected to remediation portals, allowed limited access only to patch servers, or isolated into restricted VLANs. This ensures that devices posing a potential threat, due to outdated software or missing security controls, do not jeopardize the wider network environment.

Guest Access is unrelated to evaluating device health. It provides temporary network access for visitors who do not have corporate identities but does not examine the security state of their devices.

Device Administration uses TACACS+ or RADIUS to authenticate network administrators and enforce command authorization on routers, switches, and firewalls. It governs management actions, not endpoint posture.

RBAC assigns access rights and roles to users within ISE or other systems but does not evaluate the device’s security posture or dynamically determine network access.

Therefore, Posture Assessment is the correct choice because it is the only feature that evaluates endpoint health, enforces compliance, and integrates with dynamic access control mechanisms. It provides continuous visibility into device security, reduces the risk of policy violations, and prevents infected or vulnerable devices from gaining unrestricted access to sensitive resources. None of the other features—Guest Access, Device Administration, or RBAC—offer real-time compliance enforcement or dynamic health-based access decisions.

Question 188:

Which Cisco technology isolates compromised endpoints to prevent malware spread?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco Firepower delivers extensive network security capabilities by inspecting traffic, blocking malicious payloads, enforcing firewall rules, and applying intrusion prevention policies. However, Firepower operates at the network layer and cannot directly isolate an individual endpoint. Its role is to protect network flows, not to quarantine compromised devices.

Cisco AMP for Endpoints, however, includes a dedicated isolation feature designed to protect the network when an endpoint shows signs of compromise. When AMP detects malicious activity—whether through behavioral analytics, file trajectory analysis, exploit prevention, machine learning detections, or retrospective threat discovery—it can immediately isolate the device. This isolation prevents all non-essential communication between the infected endpoint and the rest of the network.

Isolation stops lateral movement, blocks malware from spreading to adjacent systems, disrupts ransomware propagation, and prevents command-and-control communication. Administrators can still maintain remote management access to the endpoint to perform cleanup, initiate forensic investigations, or remove malicious artifacts. AMP logs all actions and provides in-depth telemetry to support forensic analysis and audit trails.

Cisco Umbrella is excellent for DNS-layer protection, blocking requests to malicious domains and preventing devices from reaching harmful C2 servers. However, Umbrella does not possess endpoint isolation capabilities.

Cisco Talos delivers world-class threat intelligence and malware research, but it is not an enforcement tool and cannot quarantine endpoints directly.

Therefore, AMP for Endpoints is the correct answer because it provides dynamic, automated, and granular control over compromised devices. Its isolation capability is essential for mitigating breaches, breaking attack chains, and stopping infections from spreading. Firepower, Umbrella, and Talos cannot perform endpoint-level quarantine in real time.

Question 189:

Which Cisco solution blocks endpoints from reaching malicious command-and-control servers?

A. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
B. Cisco Firepower
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: C

Explanation:

Cisco AMP for Endpoints focuses heavily on local device monitoring, malware remediation, file trajectory tracking, and retrospective analysis. While it plays an essential role in endpoint security, it does not provide DNS-layer blocking, meaning it cannot prevent outbound DNS queries from reaching malicious command-and-control servers.

Cisco Firepower provides deep packet inspection and intrusion prevention but is not designed to intercept DNS traffic at the recursive resolution level. While it can block some C2 traffic patterns, it does not provide cloud-delivered DNS enforcement capable of stopping all outbound attempts before they leave the network.

Cisco Umbrella, however, is purpose-built for this exact function. Umbrella acts as a secure DNS-layer protection platform, intercepting outgoing DNS requests from endpoints before domain names are resolved. When an endpoint attempts to communicate with a known malicious domain—such as C2 servers used by botnets, ransomware operators, spyware networks, or phishing infrastructure—Umbrella blocks the request immediately. This prevents malware from receiving commands, sending stolen data, or updating its payload. Umbrella also protects roaming devices, off-network users, and mobile workers by enforcing DNS security regardless of their location.

Cisco Talos provides the threat intelligence powering Umbrella’s block lists, but Talos itself does not enforce traffic blocking.

Thus, Umbrella is the correct choice because it prevents endpoints from reaching malicious C2 destinations at the DNS layer, which is one of the earliest and most effective points of protection. AMP, Firepower, and Talos do not provide this type of DNS-layer enforcement.

Question 190:

Which Cisco Firepower feature inspects network traffic for malicious behavior using signatures and anomaly detection?

A. Access Control Policy
B. Intrusion Policy
C. Security Intelligence Feeds
D. URL Filtering

Answer: B

Explanation:

Access Control Policies within Cisco Firepower provide basic traffic filtering based on port, protocol, application, and IP information. They do not inspect packet payloads for malicious behavior or detect embedded malware, exploits, or suspicious patterns.

Intrusion Policies, however, are specifically designed to analyze traffic deeply and identify malicious behavior using Snort signatures, anomaly detection engines, and behavioral analysis frameworks. These policies evaluate packet payloads, headers, flow metadata, and contextual elements to detect patterns associated with cyberattacks. Examples include detecting exploit attempts, buffer overflows, shellcode injection, scanning behavior, malware signatures, encrypted exfiltration attempts, and command-and-control communication patterns. Intrusion Policies can either alert or block depending on configuration and threat severity.

Security Intelligence Feeds provide block lists of known malicious IPs and domains. While highly effective for proactive blocking, they do not analyze traffic for unknown threats or payload-level attacks.

URL Filtering categorizes and restricts website access but is not designed to provide deep packet inspection or behavioral threat detection.

Therefore, Intrusion Policies are the correct answer because they combine signature-based detection, anomaly analysis, and behavioral threat identification to examine the actual content of network flows. They reveal hidden attacks, protect against zero-day exploits, and enforce advanced threat prevention at the packet level—capabilities not provided by Access Control, Security Intelligence Feeds, or URL Filtering.

Question 191:

Which Cisco solution allows administrators to see endpoint telemetry and detect suspicious activity over time?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco AMP for Endpoints is the correct solution because it provides administrators with deep visibility into endpoint telemetry and enables the detection of suspicious activity over extended periods. Endpoint telemetry is essential for understanding what is happening on hosts in real time and historically. AMP continuously collects detailed information such as file executions, process launches, registry activity, communication attempts, and behavioral indicators. This constant flow of telemetry allows administrators to examine how threats evolve across devices, even when they initially appear harmless or bypass traditional detection layers.

Unlike traditional antivirus tools that rely primarily on signatures or one-time scans, AMP builds a long-term behavioral profile of each endpoint. By correlating this telemetry with threat intelligence and cloud analytics, AMP can flag anomalies that might indicate malware infiltration, privilege escalation, or the presence of lateral movement techniques. This retrospective visibility is invaluable, especially when threats remain dormant or disguise themselves until a later stage. If a previously unknown file is later determined to be malicious, AMP enables administrators to instantly trace its activity across all affected endpoints, identifying when it executed, which processes it interacted with, and what files it modified.

Cisco Firepower focuses on network traffic enforcement, intrusion prevention, and policy control, but it does not capture endpoint-level activity details such as process lineage or file behaviors. Although it strengthens perimeter and internal network defenses, it lacks the forensic-level insight needed to fully understand what is occurring on individual hosts.

Cisco Umbrella works at the DNS and IP layer, blocking connections to malicious domains and preventing communication with known harmful destinations. While it provides valuable protection against phishing or command-and-control activity, it does not monitor endpoint behavior, file activity, or local processes.

Cisco Talos acts as Cisco’s threat intelligence and research organization, generating global insights about emerging threats. Talos enriches many Cisco platforms but does not serve as a standalone endpoint monitoring solution.

Therefore, AMP for Endpoints stands out because it integrates continuous monitoring, behavioral analytics, retrospective detection, and real-time telemetry into one cohesive solution, providing administrators with the visibility needed to detect and respond to evolving threats over time.

Question 192:

Which Cisco ISE feature assigns network access dynamically based on endpoint compliance?

A. Posture Assessment
B. Guest Access
C. Device Administration
D. RBAC

Answer: A

Explanation:

Posture Assessment is the correct choice because it is the only Cisco ISE feature designed specifically to evaluate endpoint health and then dynamically adjust network access based on compliance results. Modern enterprise environments require a method to ensure devices connecting to the network meet security standards before being granted unrestricted access. Posture Assessment allows Cisco ISE to examine a device’s antivirus status, operating system version, patch levels, firewall configuration, encryption posture, and other essential health attributes. This evaluation helps determine whether a device is compliant, partially compliant, or non-compliant.

When a device attempts to connect, ISE performs this assessment and uses the results to assign an appropriate access profile. A fully compliant device may be placed into a VLAN with full access to corporate resources. A partially compliant device may receive limited access, such as access only to remediation servers. A non-compliant or high-risk device can be quarantined entirely, preventing potential threats from entering the network. This dynamic enforcement allows organizations to maintain strong security while still enabling flexible connectivity across different device types, including personal laptops, corporate endpoints, IoT devices, and contractor systems.

In contrast, Guest Access is designed for temporary connectivity for visitors. While it provides time-bound credentials and segmented access, it does not evaluate device compliance or adjust access based on security posture.

Device Administration, which uses TACACS+ or RADIUS for managing administrative access to routers, switches, wireless controllers, and other infrastructure devices, focuses exclusively on control of privileged accounts rather than endpoint compliance. It does not affect network access rules for users or endpoints.

RBAC assigns permissions based on predefined roles, allowing organizations to apply consistent access control based on job functions. However, RBAC does not include any mechanism to evaluate device health or enforce compliance-based access changes.

Posture Assessment stands apart because it links endpoint security state directly to network accessibility, ensuring that only devices meeting security standards are trusted with full network access. This helps maintain a robust zero-trust posture and reduces the risk of breaches originating from unmanaged or vulnerable endpoints.

Question 193:

Which Cisco solution isolates a compromised endpoint to prevent malware propagation?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco AMP for Endpoints is the correct solution for isolating compromised endpoints because it includes built-in containment capabilities designed to prevent malware from spreading across the network. When a device is suspected of being compromised, time is critical. Malware, particularly modern threats such as ransomware and trojans with lateral movement capabilities, can propagate extremely quickly. AMP for Endpoints addresses this by allowing administrators to immediately isolate the infected host. Once isolated, the device can still communicate with the AMP console for remediation purposes but is unable to communicate with other network systems, effectively halting any propagation attempts.

This endpoint isolation capability is part of AMP’s broader threat detection and response framework. AMP continuously monitors processes, file activity, network behavior, and system indicators to detect signs of compromise. If suspicious behavior is identified, AMP can initiate automated response actions, including isolation, file quarantine, and process termination. This provides organizations with rapid containment to reduce damage while security teams investigate further.

Cisco Firepower focuses on network intrusion prevention and threat detection at the traffic level. While it can identify malicious patterns in network flows, it cannot isolate individual endpoints, meaning it cannot stop malware already inside a host from moving laterally.

Cisco Umbrella, with its DNS-layer protection, prevents endpoints from connecting to malicious domains. Although Umbrella is highly effective at stopping command-and-control communication, it does not provide endpoint-level containment or isolation capabilities.

Cisco Talos offers global threat intelligence by analyzing malware trends, vulnerabilities, and cyber threat campaigns. While Talos enhances the detection capabilities of Cisco products, it does not directly isolate endpoints.

AMP for Endpoints is uniquely positioned because it combines behavioral analysis, retrospective threat detection, and automated response capabilities, including full endpoint isolation. This ability to quarantine compromised devices directly at the endpoint level helps organizations prevent widespread infection, reduce incident impact, and maintain a strong security posture.

Question 194:

Which Cisco technology blocks access to malicious domains at the DNS level?

A. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
B. Cisco Firepower
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: C

Explanation:

Cisco Umbrella is the correct answer because it provides DNS-layer protection by intercepting DNS requests and blocking connections to malicious or suspicious domains before a device can establish communication. This proactive approach is extremely effective because DNS is the first step in nearly all internet communications. When a user or endpoint attempts to reach a website, cloud service, or external resource, Umbrella examines the domain being queried and compares it against global threat intelligence data. If the domain is associated with phishing sites, malware distribution servers, botnets, or command-and-control infrastructure, the request is blocked immediately.

This DNS-layer filtering occurs before any IP connection is made, drastically reducing the chance of malware execution, data exfiltration, or credential theft. Umbrella also protects roaming users and remote workers because it functions regardless of network location, making it an essential component in cloud-delivered security architectures and zero-trust models.

Cisco AMP for Endpoints focuses on detecting and remediating threats on the endpoint itself but does not intervene at the DNS resolution layer.

Cisco Firepower provides firewalling, intrusion prevention, and network-level threat detection. While Firepower can enforce policies based on IP addresses, ports, and traffic characteristics, DNS-layer control is not its primary function. Firepower typically responds after a connection attempt is made, whereas Umbrella stops threats earlier in the communication chain.

Cisco Talos provides the intelligence that feeds into technologies like Umbrella and AMP, offering insights about malicious domains and IPs. However, Talos itself is not a blocking mechanism.

Umbrella stands out because it offers a cloud-native approach to blocking malicious domains at the earliest possible stage. By preventing DNS resolution, it stops malware before downloads occur, prevents phishing sites from loading, and prevents infected devices from communicating with malicious infrastructure. This makes it one of the most effective preventative security tools for organizations seeking to reduce their exposure to domain-based attacks.

Question 195:

Which Cisco Firepower feature inspects network traffic using signatures, behavioral analysis, and protocol anomaly detection?

A. Access Control Policy
B. Intrusion Policy
C. Security Intelligence Feeds
D. URL Filtering

Answer: B

Explanation:

The Intrusion Policy feature within Cisco Firepower is the correct answer because it is responsible for inspecting network traffic using signature-based detection, anomaly analysis, and behavioral monitoring. Firepower uses the Snort intrusion detection and prevention engine, which analyzes packet payloads and network flows to identify attacks such as exploit attempts, malicious scripts, unauthorized access attempts, and protocol violations. The Intrusion Policy applies a set of rules, each designed to detect a specific threat or suspicious pattern. These rules can be customized, tuned, and updated regularly to reflect emerging vulnerabilities.

Behavioral analysis within the Intrusion Policy adds another layer by identifying traffic patterns that deviate from normal behavior. For example, unusual port scanning, repeated authentication failures, or abnormal protocol usage may indicate an ongoing attack. Protocol anomaly detection further enhances this protection by identifying malformed packets or improper protocol sequences that attackers often use to exploit software vulnerabilities.

Access Control Policies, while essential, serve a different function. They determine which traffic should be allowed or denied based on criteria like source IP, destination IP, application, and port number. However, they do not analyze the actual content of network packets for malicious signatures or behaviors.

Security Intelligence Feeds supply lists of known malicious IPs, URLs, and domains. These feeds enable Firepower to block traffic from suspicious sources preemptively, but they do not provide deep inspection of live traffic.

URL Filtering allows administrators to restrict web access based on categories such as social media, gambling, or adult content. Although it improves web security, it does not provide payload-level inspection for malware or exploit code.

The Intrusion Policy is the feature uniquely capable of performing deep packet inspection, identifying both known and unknown threats, and applying real-time prevention actions. It combines the power of signatures, behavioral analytics, and protocol anomaly detection to safeguard networks from sophisticated attacks that bypass simpler security controls. This makes it the central mechanism for threat detection within Cisco Firepower’s layered security architecture.

Question 196:

Which Cisco AMP for Endpoints feature allows detection of threats that bypassed initial security controls?

A. File Reputation
B. Continuous Monitoring
C. Threat Grid Integration
D. URL Filtering

Answer: B

Explanation:

Continuous Monitoring within Cisco AMP for Endpoints is the correct answer because it enables the system to track endpoint behavior over time and identify threats that initially evaded detection. Cyber threats are increasingly designed to remain hidden, conduct slow-released actions, or disguise their operations to bypass traditional signature-based security. Continuous Monitoring solves this problem by persistently observing file activity, process behavior, network communication attempts, registry changes, and system-level operations across all endpoints.

The key benefit of Continuous Monitoring is retrospective detection. This capability allows AMP to re-evaluate previously observed files and activities if new threat intelligence becomes available. For instance, if a file initially appeared benign but later is classified as malicious by Cisco’s cloud analytics or global intelligence sources, AMP can automatically trace the file’s full history. It can reveal when the file was executed, what systems were impacted, what processes it spawned, and whether it altered other files. This backward-looking analysis enables security teams to identify compromised systems even if the threat was not recognized during initial inspection.

File Reputation is a valuable component, but it evaluates files based on known signatures and threat classifications. It cannot detect new threats that have not yet been cataloged.

Threat Grid Integration provides dynamic sandbox analysis, allowing unknown files to be executed in a controlled environment to observe their behavior. While powerful, sandboxing alone does not continuously monitor endpoints for long-term behavioral patterns.

URL Filtering focuses on controlling access to websites and categories but does not monitor endpoint activity.

Continuous Monitoring is therefore the only feature capable of detecting stealthy intrusions that bypass initial defenses. By maintaining ongoing visibility, AMP can uncover threats long after their initial entry, making it a cornerstone of modern threat detection and response.

Question 197:

Which Cisco ISE feature provides time-limited network access for visitors?

A. Posture Assessment
B. Guest Access
C. Device Administration
D. RBAC

Answer: B

Explanation:

Guest Access is the correct answer because it is designed specifically to provide time-limited, controlled access for visitors who require temporary connectivity to an organization’s network. Cisco ISE’s Guest Access feature enables organizations to create customized guest portals, where visitors such as partners, contractors, clients, or interview candidates can authenticate using temporary credentials. These credentials may be self-generated, sponsor-approved, or automatically issued, depending on organizational policies.

The key purpose of Guest Access is to offer connectivity while maintaining strong segmentation and protection. Guests are typically placed into isolated VLANs or restricted network segments where they can access only the resources explicitly permitted for visitor use, such as internet access, dedicated printers, or specific presentation systems. Guest Access also includes logging and monitoring capabilities, ensuring organizations maintain visibility into guest activities without granting inappropriate access to internal systems.

Posture Assessment is focused on evaluating endpoint compliance, including antivirus status and patch levels. While it helps determine whether corporate devices meet security standards, it does not provide temporary accounts for short-term users.

Device Administration is designed for controlling administrative access to routers, switches, wireless controllers, and other network infrastructure components using TACACS+ and RADIUS. It is unrelated to visitor access.

RBAC provides granular access control based on job roles or responsibilities. However, it does not include mechanisms for issuing temporary network credentials or restricting access solely for guests.

Guest Access stands out because it provides a structured, secure, and manageable way to accommodate visitors without compromising overall network integrity. It maintains a balance between convenience and security while ensuring that guest activities remain isolated from sensitive corporate environments.

Question 198:

Which Cisco solution integrates Threat Grid to perform dynamic malware analysis?

A. Cisco Firepower
B. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: B

Explanation:

Cisco AMP for Endpoints is the correct solution because it integrates with Cisco Threat Grid to perform advanced dynamic malware analysis. Threat Grid provides a sandboxing environment where suspicious files are executed and observed in a controlled, isolated virtual environment. This allows AMP to gather detailed behavioral indicators about unknown files, including network calls, file modifications, process spawning, registry interactions, and system-level manipulations. These indicators help identify whether a file is malicious, suspicious, or safe, even when no prior signature exists.

Integration with Threat Grid enhances AMP’s detection capabilities through automated insights into zero-day threats, polymorphic malware, and evasive attack techniques. Once a file is analyzed, Threat Grid generates a comprehensive behavioral report and provides a threat score. This information is then shared across the AMP ecosystem, allowing other endpoints to benefit from the analysis results immediately. If the file is deemed malicious, AMP can automatically quarantine or block it across all managed systems.

Cisco Firepower focuses on network-level traffic and intrusion prevention and does not provide built-in sandbox execution for unidentified files.

Cisco Umbrella provides DNS-layer filtering to prevent access to malicious domains but does not analyze files by executing them in a sandbox environment.

Cisco Talos functions as a global threat intelligence organization, supplying data on emerging malware trends and vulnerabilities. It does not provide dynamic file analysis at the endpoint level.

AMP for Endpoints is the only solution that merges endpoint security with automated sandboxing to enhance detection accuracy and accelerate incident response. Threat Grid integration makes AMP capable of identifying sophisticated threats that signature-based tools would miss, allowing security teams to respond quickly and effectively.

Question 199:

Which Cisco technology prevents endpoints from reaching command-and-control servers?

A. Cisco AMP for Endpoints
B. Cisco Firepower
C. Cisco Umbrella
D. Cisco Talos

Answer: C

Explanation:

Cisco Umbrella is the correct answer because it prevents endpoints from reaching command-and-control (C2) servers by blocking malicious DNS requests. C2 servers are critical for many types of malware, especially ransomware, botnets, and remote-access trojans. They provide attackers with a communication channel for issuing commands, retrieving stolen data, or initiating destructive actions. By blocking endpoints from resolving malicious domains associated with these servers, Umbrella disrupts the malware’s operational chain.

Umbrella works at the DNS layer, which is the earliest stage of almost every internet connection. When a device attempts to reach a domain, Umbrella analyzes the request against its extensive database of malicious domains, IPs, and URLs. If the domain is tied to C2 activity, the request is immediately blocked. This prevents the malware from receiving instructions or uploading sensitive data, effectively rendering it inactive even if the malware remains on the device.

Cisco AMP for Endpoints provides detailed endpoint monitoring and threat remediation capabilities, but it does not prevent domain resolution at the DNS level.

Cisco Firepower monitors and blocks malicious network traffic but does not intercept DNS queries before connections are established.

Cisco Talos supplies intelligence feeds but does not block communications directly.

Umbrella’s proactive DNS-layer enforcement stops C2 connections before they occur, making it one of the most effective tools for cutting off attacker communication channels and containing infections early.

Question 200:

Which Cisco Firepower feature uses threat intelligence feeds to proactively block malicious traffic?

A. Access Control Policy
B. Security Intelligence Feeds
C. Intrusion Policy
D. URL Filtering

Answer: B

Explanation:

Security Intelligence Feeds within Cisco Firepower are the correct answer because they allow Firepower to proactively block malicious traffic using dynamic threat intelligence information. These feeds contain continuously updated lists of malicious IP addresses, URLs, and domains gathered from Cisco Talos and global threat research networks. Firepower uses this intelligence to automatically block traffic originating from or destined for known malicious sources. This preemptive blocking significantly reduces the risk of successful attacks by preventing harmful traffic before it reaches the network.

Unlike static access control lists, Security Intelligence Feeds provide real-time updates, allowing Firepower to adapt instantly to evolving cyber threats. When new malicious infrastructure emerges, Firepower can begin blocking it immediately without requiring administrator intervention. This rapid response capability is essential for defending against fast-moving threats such as phishing campaigns, botnet command-and-control servers, and malware distribution networks.

Access Control Policies determine which traffic is allowed or denied based on predefined rules. However, they do not dynamically update based on threat intelligence.

The Intrusion Policy inspects traffic for malicious payloads using signatures and anomaly detection. While highly effective for deep inspection, it focuses on detecting attacks rather than blocking them solely based on external intelligence lists.

URL Filtering restricts access to web categories and helps prevent browsing to harmful or inappropriate sites, but it does not use threat intelligence to identify malicious IPs or networks.

Security Intelligence Feeds stand out because they combine automation, real-time updates, and proactive blocking. They reduce the workload on security teams while improving overall network resilience by stopping threats at the earliest possible stage.