156-315.81 Practice Exam Questions with Answers Check Point Certified Security Expert R81.20 Certification

Dynamic Balancing is a feature that uses a daemon to balance the required number of firewall instances and SNDs based on the current load. It dynamically changes the split between CoreXL SNDs and CoreXL Firewalls and does not require a reboot or cause an outage. It monitors the system and makes changes as needed to optimize the performance of the Security Gateway. It is supported on Check Point Appliances with R80.40 and higher versions. References: Dynamic Balancing for CoreXL - Check Point Software, Dynamic Balancing available on R80.40 - Check Point CheckMates, CLI R81.20 Reference Guide - Check Point Software, Performance Tuning R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software

 One of the requirements for a successful upgrade using the Advanced Upgrade with Database Migration is that the size of the /var/log folder of the target machine must be at least 25% of the size of the /var/log directory on the source machine. This is to ensure that there is enough space to copy the log files from the source machine to the target machine during the upgrade process. References: Advanced Upgrade with Database Migration

 The CPU load on a Secure Network Distributor (SND) indicates how much processing power is available for distributing traffic among cluster members. If the CPU load is high, it means that the SND is overloaded and cannot handle more traffic efficiently. A good indicator of SND overload is when the Idle CPU percentage is less than 20%. In this case, you may need to add another SND to balance the load or optimize your cluster configuration. References: Getting Started - Check Point Software, section “Monitoring ClusterXL Status”

The Check Point software blade that provides protection from zero-day and undiscovered threats is Threat Emulation. Threat Emulation is a sandboxing technology that inspects files for malicious behavior in a virtual environment before they reach the end user. Threat Emulation can detect and block malware that tries to evade traditional signature-based solutions by using unknown or obfuscated techniques. Threat Emulation can also generate forensic reports and provide actionable intelligence on the malware origin and behavior. 

 In the Network policy layer, the default action for the Implied last rule is drop all traffic. However, in the Application Control policy layer, the default action is accept all traffic. The Implied last rule is a rule that is automatically added at the end of each policy layer and defines what to do with traffic that does not match any of the user-defined rules. The default actions for each policy layer can be changed in the Global Properties or in the layer properties. References: R81 Security Management Administration Guide, page 30.

The back end database for Check Point R81 Management uses PostgreSQL, which is an open source relational database management system2. MongoDB, MySQL, and DBMS are not used by Check Point R81 Management. References: 2: Check Point Software, Getting Started, Database.

 The command ‘fw sam -I dport 22’ will delete all of the SSH connections of a gateway by adding a temporary rule to the Security Policy that blocks traffic with destination port 22. The other commands are not valid or do not have the same effect. References: Check Point R81 Command Line Interface Reference Guide, page 101.

 cp.macro is an electronically signed file used by Check Point to translate the features in the license into a code. It is located in the $FWDIR/conf directory on the Security Management Server. The cp.macro file contains a list of features and their corresponding codes, which are used to generate the license file (.lic) based on the contract file (.xml). The license file (.lic) is then installed on the Security Gateway or Security Management Server to activate the licensed features. References: Check Point R81 Licensing and Contract Administration Guide, page 10

 An identity server uses a token for user authentication. A token is a piece of data that contains information about the user’s identity, such as their username, email, roles, and claims. A token is digitally signed by the identity server and can be verified by the relying party (the application or service that needs to authenticate the user). A token can be issued in different formats, such as JSON Web Token (JWT) or Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML). A token can also have different lifetimes, such as short-lived access tokens or long-lived refresh tokens. 

 The recommended configuration when the customer requires SmartLog indexing for 14 days and SmartEvent to keep events for 180 days is to install Management and SmartEvent on different machines. This is because SmartLog and SmartEvent use different databases and storage methods, and having them on separate machines allows for better performance and scalability. References: [SmartLog Administration Guide]

The process that pulls the application monitoring status from gateways is cpd1. The cpd process is responsible for the communication between the Security Management Server and the Security Gateway2. It handles tasks such as policy installation, status reporting, logging, and synchronization2. The cpd process also monitors the application status of the Security Gateway, such as CPU, memory, disk space, and processes3. The cpd process sends this information to the Security Management Server, which displays it in SmartConsole and SmartView Monitor3.

References: How to troubleshoot issues with Check Point Application Control and URL Filtering blades - Check Point Software, Processes and Daemons in Gaia OS - Check Point Software, Monitoring Device Status - Check Point Software

Cluster Synchronization is a mechanism that allows cluster members to share state information and maintain a consistent security policy. Cluster Synchronization uses two types of synchronization: Full Synchronization and Delta Synchronization. Full Synchronization transfers the entire Security Policy and state tables from one cluster member to another. Delta Synchronization transfers only the changes in the state tables. Cluster Synchronization uses two services for communication: TCP port 256 (CPHA) for Full Synchronization and UDP port 8116 for Delta Synchronization3. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

References: 3: Cluster Synchronization

 Updatable Objects are a Threat Cloud Service that provides network objects that represent external services, such as Office 365, AWS, GEO locations, and more. These objects are updated automatically by Check Point and do not require policy installation for the changes to take effect. Dynamic Objects are created and maintained locally by the administrator and can be used to define temporary or changing network objects, such as IP addresses, ports, or ranges. Dynamic Objects also do not require policy installation for the changes to take effect. References: Updatable Objects, Updateable Objects and NAT, R80.20 Updatable Domain Objects and CLI Commands.

 You can enable Multi-Version Cluster (MVC) by running set cluster member mvc on on the Check Point Security Gateway Cluster Member1. MVC is a feature that allows you to upgrade a Security Gateway Cluster to a higher version without downtime2. It works by upgrading one cluster member at a time, while the other cluster members continue to operate with the lower version2. MVC supports upgrading from R80.40 and above to R81 and above2. To use MVC, you need to do the following steps2:

• Enable MVC on each cluster member by running set cluster member mvc on in Clish and rebooting the gateway.
• Install the higher version on one cluster member using CPUSE or ISO image.
• Install policy on the upgraded cluster member and verify that it works properly.
• Repeat the previous steps for the remaining cluster members until all of them are upgraded.
• Disable MVC on each cluster member by running set cluster member mvc off in Clish and rebooting the gateway.

References: Multi-Version Cluster (MVC) - Check Point Software, Multi-Version Cluster (MVC) - Check Point CheckMates

Check Point recommends configuring Disk Space Management parameters to delete old log entries when available disk space is less than or equal to a certain threshold. In this case, the correct threshold is specified as option D: 15%.

So, when the available disk space reaches or falls below 15%, old log entries should be deleted to free up space.

Options A, B, and C do not represent the recommended threshold for deleting old log entries according to Check Point's best practices.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

The type of Endpoint Identity Agent that does not exist is Terminal. Endpoint Identity Agent is a software component that runs on Windows or Mac devices and provides identity information to the Check Point Security Gateway. Endpoint Identity Agent allows the Security Gateway to enforce granular access policies based on user identity and device compliance status. There are three types of Endpoint Identity Agent:

• Full Identity Agent - a persistent agent that provides seamless and transparent identity acquisition and SSO (single sign-on) capabilities. It supports various authentication methods, such as Active Directory, LDAP, RADIUS, certificate, etc. It also supports endpoint compliance checks and remediation actions.
• Light Identity Agent - a lightweight agent that provides identity acquisition through a web browser. It supports Active Directory authentication only. It does not support SSO or endpoint compliance features.
• Custom Identity Agent - a customized agent that provides identity acquisition through an API. It allows third-party applications or systems to integrate with Check Point Identity Awareness and provide user identity information.

Terminal is not a type of Endpoint Identity Agent, but it is a type of Terminal Server Agent. Terminal Server Agent is a software component that runs on Windows Terminal Servers or Citrix Servers and provides identity information for multiple concurrent users who connect to these servers using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol. Terminal Server Agent allows the Security Gateway to enforce granular access policies based on user identity and session information. 

 In the R81 SmartConsole, Permissions and Administrators are defined on the Manage and Settings tab. The Manage and Settings tab allows administrators to configure various settings and options for the SmartConsole, such as global properties, network objects, services, users and user groups, permissions, licenses, certificates, etc. To define Permissions and Administrators, the administrator can go to the Manage and Settings tab and select Permissions and Administrators from the left pane. This will open a window where the administrator can create, edit, or delete administrators and roles, assign permissions and access profiles, enable multi-domain support, etc.

The other options are incorrect because:

• The Security Policies tab allows administrators to create, edit, or delete security policies for different blades, such as Access Control, Threat Prevention, Identity Awareness, Mobile Access, etc. It also allows administrators to install policies on selected gateways or servers.
• The Logs and Monitor tab allows administrators to view, filter, analyze, or export logs and reports for different blades, such as Access Control, Threat Prevention, Identity Awareness, Mobile Access, etc. It also allows administrators to monitor the status and performance of gateways and servers.
• The Gateways and Servers tab allows administrators to add, edit, or delete gateways and servers that are managed by the Security Management Server or the Multi-Domain Security Management Server. It also allows administrators to view the details and configuration of each gateway or server.

The Check Point Compliance Blade is a security management tool that monitors the compliance status of the Security Gateways and Security Management Servers with various regulatory standards1. The Compliance Blade supports the following regulatory standards2:

• GLBA: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is a US federal law that requires financial institutions to protect the privacy and security of their customers’ personal information.
• CJIS: The Criminal Justice Information Services Division, also known as CJIS, is a division of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that provides criminal justice information services to law enforcement, national security, and intelligence agencies. CJIS has a set of security policies and requirements that govern the access, use, and protection of the CJIS data.
• NCIPA: The National Counterintelligence and Security Center Insider Threat Program Maturity Framework, also known as NCIPA, is a US government framework that provides guidance and best practices for establishing and enhancing insider threat programs within federal agencies. NCIPA defines five levels of maturity for insider threat programs, from initial to optimized.
• SOCI: This is not a valid option for a configurable Compliance Regulation. There is no such regulatory standard with this acronym. However, there is a similar acronym, SOC 2, which stands for Service Organization Control 2, which is a set of standards and criteria for auditing the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of service providers that store, process, or transmit customer data3.

Therefore, the correct answer is C, as SOCI is not a configurable Compliance Regulation.

References: 1: ATRG: Compliance Blade (R80.10 and higher) - Check Point Software 3 2: Check Point R81 - Check Point Software 1 3: SOC 2 Compliance Checklist: What You Need to Know - Varonis

From SecureXL perspective, the three paths of traffic flow are Firewall Path, Accelerated Path, and Medium Path. Firewall Path is the path that handles packets that are not processed by SecureXL and are sent to the Firewall kernel for inspection. Accelerated Path is the path that handles packets that are processed by SecureXL and bypass the Firewall kernel. Medium Path is the path that handles packets that are partially processed by SecureXL and partially by the Firewall kernel1. References: Check Point R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

 To override Bob’s configuration database lock, Alice can use the command lock database override in the clish shell. This command will transfer the lock from Bob to Alice and allow her to make the urgent configuration changes. However, this command should be used with caution, as it may cause conflicts or inconsistencies if Bob and Alice are working on the same objects or policies. It is recommended to communicate with other administrators before using this command and to release the lock as soon as possible after finishing the changes1. The other commands are not valid in clish and will result in an error message.

By default, Threat Emulation updates the engine on the Security Gateway once per day. This is the recommended frequency for optimal performance and security. However, the admin can change the update frequency to a different value, such as once an hour, once a week, or twice per day, depending on the network needs and resources. The admin can also manually update the engine at any time using the SmartConsole or the command line interface. References: Threat Emulation Engine Release Updates - Check Point Software, Check Point R81.20 Gaia Fresh Install and upgrade

When running a query on your logs, to find records for user Toni with machine IP of 10.0.4.210 but exclude her tablet IP of 10.0.4.76, you would use the following query syntax:

“Toni” AND 10.0.4.210 NOT 10.0.4.76

This query will match logs that contain the exact phrase “Toni” and the IP address 10.0.4.210, but not the IP address 10.0.4.76. The quotation marks around “Toni” ensure that only logs with that exact word are matched, not variations like Toni? or To**. The AND operator combines two conditions that must both be true, while the NOT operator excludes logs that match a certain condition. References: [SmartLog User Guide]

In Management HA, you should use the active SmartConsole for making changes. The active SmartConsole is connected to the Primary Security Management Server, which is responsible for synchronizing the configuration with the Secondary Security Management Server. If you use the secondary SmartCenter, your changes will not be replicated to the primary SmartCenter and will be lost in case of a failover. References: Check Point Resource Library, page 9

 The correct upgrade method for upgrading from R80.40 to R81.20 without any downtime is the Multi-Version Cluster Upgrade (MVC). MVC is a new feature in R80.40 that replaces the deprecated Connectivity Upgrade (CU). MVC allows you to upgrade cluster members to a newer version without losing connectivity and test the new version on some of the cluster members before you decide to upgrade the rest of the cluster members. MVC synchronizes connections between cluster members that run different versions and ensures that the cluster remains operational during the upgrade process. MVC is intended only to test the current configuration in the newer version and not to change the security policy and install it on cluster members with different software versions. MVC is disabled by default and can be enabled on each cluster member individually. MVC has some limitations, such as not supporting VSX clusters, IPS blade, or SecureXL acceleration.

References:

• Multi-Version Cluster (MVC) replaces Connectivity Upgrade (CU) in R80.40
• Multi-Version Cluster (MVC) Upgrade
• Configuring the Multi-Version Cluster Mechanism

SandBlast Threat Emulation is a technology that protects against zero-day and unknown malware by inspecting files in a secure sandbox environment and emulating their behavior. SandBlast Threat Emulation can be deployed in three modes: Cloud, Appliance and Hybrid1.

• Cloud mode: The files are sent to the Check Point cloud service for emulation. This mode does not require any additional hardware or software installation. It is the easiest and most cost-effective way to deploy SandBlast Threat Emulation.
• Appliance mode: The files are sent to a dedicated appliance (TE1000X, TE2500X, or TE100X) for emulation. This mode provides the highest level of performance and scalability, as well as data privacy and compliance. It is suitable for large organizations with high security and throughput requirements.
• Hybrid mode: The files are first sent to the Check Point cloud service for emulation, and if the cloud service cannot determine the verdict, they are then sent to a dedicated appliance for further analysis. This mode combines the benefits of both cloud and appliance modes, offering fast response time and high accuracy.

References: 1: SandBlast Threat Emulation Deployment Modes

 The feature that is not provided by all Check Point Mobile Access solutions is support for IPv6. Check Point Mobile Access is a comprehensive solution that provides secure remote access to corporate applications and resources using various methods, such as SSL VPN, IPsec VPN, clientless VPN, and mobile VPN. However, not all of these methods support IPv6, which is the latest version of the Internet Protocol that uses 128-bit addresses. According to the Check Point Mobile Access R81 Administration Guide1, only the following Mobile Access methods support IPv6:

• SSL Network Extender (SNX) - a thin client that enables remote users to connect securely to the corporate network using SSL/TLS VPN.
• Mobile VPN - a full VPN client that enables remote users to connect securely to the corporate network using IPsec VPN.
• Capsule Connect - a mobile VPN app for iOS and Android devices that enables remote users to connect securely to the corporate network using IPsec VPN.

The following Mobile Access methods do not support IPv6:

• Clientless VPN - a web-based method that enables remote users to access web applications and services using a web browser without installing any software on their devices.
• Endpoint Security VPN - a full VPN client that enables remote users to connect securely to the corporate network using IPsec VPN and also provides endpoint security features such as firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware, etc.
• Capsule Workspace - a mobile app for iOS and Android devices that enables remote users to access email, calendar, contacts, and corporate applications securely without requiring a VPN connection.

 Gaia has two default user accounts that cannot be deleted: Admin and Monitor. Admin is a superuser account that has full access to all Gaia features and commands. Monitor is a read-only account that can view Gaia configuration and status but cannot make any changes. Both accounts have predefined passwords that can be changed by the Admin user. References: [Check Point R81 Gaia Administration Guide], page 29

SRC: GAIA R81.20 Administration Guide User Management -> Users These users are created by default and cannot be deleted: admin and monitor

The command fw unloadlocal removes the current security policy from the local gateway and returns it to its initial state2. This command can be used as a last resort to restore traffic flow through the gateway if the policy is causing problems. The command fw unloadpolicy is not valid, and the commands fwm unload local and fwm unload policy are used to remove policies from remote gateways3. References: 2: Check Point Software, Getting Started, Unloading Security Policies; 3: Check Point Software, Getting Started, Unloading Security Policies from Remote Gateways.

 The Threat Prevention software components available on the Check Point Security Gateway are IPS, Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, Threat Emulation and Threat Extraction. These components provide comprehensive protection against various types of cyber threats, such as network attacks, malware, ransomware, phishing, zero-day exploits, data leakage, and more. IPS is a network security component that detects and prevents malicious traffic based on signatures, behavioral patterns, and anomaly detection. Anti-Bot is a network security component that detects and blocks botnet communications and command-and-control servers. Anti-Virus is a network security component that scans files for known viruses, worms, and trojans. Threat Emulation is a network security component that emulates files in a sandbox environment to detect unknown malware and prevent zero-day attacks. Threat Extraction is a network security component that removes malicious content from files and delivers clean files to users. References: [Check Point R81 Threat Prevention Administration Guide], page 9-10

 In a Zero downtime upgrade, you should upgrade the Standby Member first. This is because the Standby Member does not process traffic and can be upgraded without affecting the cluster availability. After upgrading the Standby Member, you can perform a failover and make it the Active Member. Then you can upgrade the original Active Member, which becomes the Standby Member after the failover. References: Getting Started - Check Point Software, section “Upgrading Cluster Members with Zero Downtime”

The User Directory Software Blade allows you to create user definitions on an LDAP server, such as Active Directory, and use them in your security policy. You can also integrate with other user authentication methods, such as SecurID, RADIUS, or TACACS+, but you cannot create user definitions on those servers.

The references are:

• Check Point Certified Security Expert R81.20 (CCSE) Core Training, slide 13
• Check Point R81 Quantum Security Gateway Guide, page 139
• Check Point R81 Identity Awareness Administration Guide, page 9

 The command switch to specify the Gaia API context is mgmt_cli --context gaia_api . This switch allows the user to execute Gaia OS commands through the management API. The Gaia API context is different from the default management API context, which is used to execute commands related to the security policy and objects1. References: Check Point R81 Management API Reference Guide

To see historical data with cpview, you can use the cpview -t command, where is the date and time you want to view. For example, cpview -t Jan 01 2023 12:00:00 will show you the cpview data for January 1st, 2023 at noon. You can also enter a partial date, such as Jan 02, to see the data for the whole day. This feature is available in R77.10 and higher versions of Check Point software1. You can also access the historical data by pressing the “t” key while running cpview in live mode and entering the desired date and time1. The historical data is stored in the CPViewDB.dat file in the /var/log/CPView_history directory on your gateway2. You can export this file and import it into other tools for visualization, such as Grafana3.

References:

What are types of Check Point APIs available currently as part of R81.20 code?

The types of Check Point APIs available currently as part of R81.20 code are:

• Management API: This API allows you to automate and orchestrate various management tasks, such as creating and modifying objects, installing policies, generating reports, etc. The Management API can be accessed via CLI, Web Services, or GUI clients.
• Threat Prevention API: This API allows you to interact with the Threat Prevention software blades, such as Anti-Virus, Anti-Bot, Threat Emulation, etc. The Threat Prevention API can be used to query and update indicators, upload files for emulation, retrieve verdicts and reports, etc.
• Identity Awareness Web Services API: This API allows you to integrate external identity sources with the Identity Awareness software blade, which provides identity-based access control for network traffic. The Identity Awareness Web Services API can be used to send identity and session information to the Security Gateway, query identity information from the Security Gateway, etc.
• OPSEC SDK API: This API allows you to develop custom applications that can communicate with Check Point products using the OPSEC protocol. The OPSEC SDK API supports various OPSEC services, such as LEA, CPMI, SAM, ELA, UFP, etc. References: R81 Management API Reference Guide, page 7; [R81 Threat Prevention API Reference Guide], page 7; [R81 Identity Awareness Administration Guide], page 105; [OPSEC SDK R81 Documentation Package].

The CLI command to reset the IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) pattern matcher statistics is option D: ips pmstats reset. This command will reset the statistics related to the IPS pattern matcher.

Options A, B, and C are not the correct syntax for resetting the IPS pattern matcher statistics.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

The Management API supports three methods of communication: mgmt_cli command, SmartConsole GUI dialog box, and Gaia CLI. Sending API commands over an http connection using web-services is not a supported method. References: Check Point Management APIs

In R81, you can manage your Mobile Access Policy through the Unified Policy. The Unified Policy is a single policy that combines access control, threat prevention, data protection, and identity awareness. You can create rules for mobile access in the Unified Policy rulebase and apply them to mobile devices, users, and applications. You can also use the Mobile Access blade to configure additional settings for mobile access, such as authentication methods, VPN settings, and application portal.

 TACACS+ is not an authentication method that is used for Mobile Access. Mobile Access supports the following authentication methods: username and password (internal, LDAP, or RADIUS), certificate, SecurID, DynamicID, and SMS2. TACACS+ is a protocol that provides access control for routers, network access servers, and other network devices, but it is not supported by Mobile Access3. References: Check Point R81 Mobile Access Administration Guide, TACACS+ - Wikipedia

 Sub Policies are a new R81 Gateway feature that had not been available in R77.X and older. Sub Policies are sets of rules that can be created and attached to specific rules. If the rule is matched, inspection will continue in the sub policy attached to it rather than in the next rule. This allows for more granular and modular control over the policy. The other features were already available in previous versions . References: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide, Check Point R77 Security Management Administration Guide, Check Point R77 Gaia Administration Guide, Check Point R77 Security Gateway Technical Administration Guide

NAT rules are prioritized in the following order:

• Automatic Static NAT: This is the highest priority NAT rule and it translates the source or destination IP address to a different IP address without changing the port number. It is configured in the network object properties.
• Automatic Hide NAT: This is the second highest priority NAT rule and it translates the source IP address and port number to a different IP address and port number. It is configured in the network object properties.
• Manual/Pre-Automatic NAT: This is the third highest priority NAT rule and it allows you to create custom NAT rules that are not possible with automatic NAT. It is configured in the NAT policy rulebase before the automatic NAT rules.
• Post-Automatic/Manual NAT rules: This is the lowest priority NAT rule and it allows you to create custom NAT rules that are not possible with automatic NAT. It is configured in the NAT policy rulebase after the automatic NAT rules.

Sticky Decision Function (SDF) is a feature that ensures that VPN traffic is handled by the same core on a Security Gateway with multiple CPU cores. This improves the performance and stability of VPN tunnels by avoiding out-of-order packets and reducing encryption overhead. However, the limitation of employing SDF is that acceleration technologies, such as SecureXL and CoreXL are disabled when activating SDF. This means that SDF may reduce the overall throughput and scalability of the Security Gateway. Therefore, SDF should be used only when necessary and only on gateways that are dedicated to VPN traffic. References: R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

 CPM process stores objects, policies, users, administrators, licenses and management data in a Postgres SQL database. This database is located in $FWDIR/conf and can be accessed using the pg_client command2. The other options are not the correct database type for CPM. References: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide

The difference between an event and a log is that a log entry becomes an event when it matches any rule defined in Event Policy. A log entry is a record of a network activity that is generated by a Security Gateway or a Management Server. An event is a log entry that meets certain criteria and triggers an action or a notification. The other options are either not true or not accurate definitions of events and logs. References: Check Point R81 Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide

 Check Point Central Deployment Tool (CDT) communicates with the Security Gateway / Cluster Members over Check Point SIC using TCP port 18191 by default. CDT is a tool that allows you to perform simultaneous configuration changes on multiple gateways or clusters using predefined commands or scripts. References: Check Point Central Deployment Tool (CDT)

Threat Simulator is not a component of Check Point SandBlast. Check Point SandBlast is a solution that provides advanced protection against zero-day threats using four components: Threat Emulation, Threat Extraction, Threat Cloud, and Threat Prevention. References: Check Point SandBlast Network

 The cphaprob -a if command displays the interface status of all cluster members, including the interface name, IP address, state, monitor mode, and sync status. References: cphaprob - Check Point Support Center

The clusterXL_admin down -p command disables a Cluster Member permanently, meaning that it will not rejoin the cluster even after a reboot. The other commands either disable a Cluster Member temporarily or are invalid. References: [ClusterXL Administration Guide]

The API server is a service that runs on the Security Management Server and enables external applications to communicate with the Check Point management database using REST APIs. You can verify that the API server is responding by using the following command in Expert mode:

This command will display the current status of the API server, such as running, stopped, or initializing. It will also show the API version, port number, and SSL certificate information. References: Check Point R81 REST API Reference Guide

Anti-Bot is a post-infection malware protection that detects and blocks botnet communications from infected hosts to Command & Control servers. It is different from other Threat Prevention mechanisms that prevent malware from entering the network or executing on the hosts. References: Anti-Bot Software Blade

 R81.20 management server can manage gateways with versions R75.20 and higher. However, some features may not be supported on older gateway versions. For example, R81 introduces a new feature called Infinity Threat Prevention, which requires R81 gateways to work properly. Therefore, it is recommended to upgrade your gateways to the latest version to take advantage of all the new features and enhancements in R81. 

 The host having a Critical event found by Anti-Bot should be remediated first, as it indicates that the host is infected by a botnet malware that is communicating with a Command and Control server. This poses a serious threat to the network security and data integrity. The other events may indicate potential malware infection or attack attempts, but not necessarily successful ones. References: Threat Prevention Administration Guide

 The API command add host name ip-address  can be used in a script to create 100 new host objects with different IP addresses. This command adds a new host object with the specified name and IP address to the database. The other commands are either not valid or not suitable for creating new host objects. References: Check Point - Management API reference

The Event List within the Event tab contains events generated by a query. The Event List shows the events that match the query criteria, such as time range, filter, and aggregation. The events can be sorted by different columns, such as severity, time, action, and source3. The other options are either not part of the Event tab or not related to the Event List. References: Check Point R81 Logging and Monitoring Administration Guide

The least amount of CPU cores required to enable CoreXL is 2. CoreXL is a technology that improves the performance of Security Gateways by using multiple CPU cores to process traffic in parallel. CoreXL requires at least two CPU cores, one for SND (Secure Network Distributor) and one for a Firewall instance. The other options are either too few or too many CPU cores for enabling CoreXL. References: [Check Point R81 SecureXL Administration Guide], [Check Point R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide]

 The attributes that SecureXL will check after the connection is allowed by Security Policy are Source address, Destination address, Source port, Destination port, Protocol. These are the five tuple parameters that define a connection and are used by SecureXL to accelerate the traffic. The other options are either missing some of the parameters or include irrelevant ones, such as MAC addresses1. References: Check Point R81 SecureXL Administration Guide

Suspicious Activity Rules Solution

Suspicious Activity Rules is a utility integrated into SmartView Monitor that is used to modify access privileges upon detection of any suspicious network activity (for example, several attempts to gain unauthorized access).

The detection of suspicious activity is based on the creation of Suspicious Activity rules. Suspicious Activity rules are Firewall rules that enable the system administrator to instantly block suspicious connections that are not restricted by the currently enforced security policy. These rules, once set (usually with an expiration date), can be applied immediately without the need to perform an Install Policy operation.

References:

The fwd process within the Security Management Server is responsible for the receiving of log records from Security Gateway. The fwd process handles the communication with the Security Gateways and log servers via TCP port 2571. The other processes have different roles, such as logd for writing logs to the database, fwm for handling GUI clients, and cpd for infrastructure tasks2. References: Check Point Ports Used for Communication by Various Check Point Modules, Check Point Processes Cheat Sheet – LazyAdmins

 Sticky Decision Function (SDF) is required to prevent asymmetric routing in an Active-Active cluster. Asymmetric routing occurs when packets from a source to a destination follow a different path than packets from the destination to the source. This can cause problems with stateful inspection and NAT. SDF ensures that packets from the same connection are handled by the same cluster member1. References: Check Point R81 ClusterXL Administration Guide

To help SmartEvent determine whether events originated internally or externally, you must define the traffic direction using the Initial Settings under General Settings in the Policy Tab. There are four options available to calculate the traffic direction: Incoming, Outgoing, Internal, and Other. Incoming means the source is external and the destination is internal. Outgoing means the source is internal and the destination is external. Internal means both the source and the destination are internal. Other means both the source and the destination are external. References: SmartEvent R81 Administration Guide

 Check Point Management (cpm) is the main management process that provides the architecture for a consolidated management console. CPM allows the GUI client and management server to communicate via web services using TCP port 19009 by default. References: CPM process

When requiring certificates for mobile devices, the authentication method should be set to one of the following:

Username and Password

RADIUS

SecurID (RSA SecurID)

So, the correct answer is option B, "SecurID."

Options A, C, and D are not standard authentication methods for mobile devices in this context.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 Threat Extraction is a technology that removes potentially malicious features that are known to be risky from files (macros, embedded objects and more), rather than determining their maliciousness. By cleaning the file before it enters the organization, Threat Extraction preemptively prevents both known and unknown threats, providing better protection against zero-day attacks1. Any active contents of a document, such as JavaScripts, macros and links will be removed from the document and forwarded to the intended recipient, which makes this solution very fast2. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant to the mechanism behind Threat Extraction. References: Threat Extraction (CDR) - Check Point Software, Check Point Document Threat Extraction Technology

On a Security Gateway with CoreXL enabled, the Firewall kernel is replicated multiple times. Each replicated copy, or instance, runs on one processing core. These instances handle traffic concurrently, and each instance is a complete and independent inspection kernel. When CoreXL is enabled, all the kernel instances in the Security Gateway process traffic through the same interfaces and apply the same security policy.

References:

 A management plug-in is a software component that interacts with a Security Management Server to provide new features and support for new products. A management plug-in can extend the functionality of SmartConsole, SmartDashboard, SmartView Monitor, SmartView Tracker, SmartEvent, SmartReporter, SmartProvisioning, SmartUpdate, and other management tools. A management plug-in can also add new objects, policies, rules, actions, reports, views, and wizards to the management system. Some examples of management plug-ins are CloudGuard Controller, SandBlast Agent, Endpoint Security Server, Threat Extraction for Web, etc. 

 Connections to the Check Point R81 Web API use the HTTPS protocol. The Web API is a RESTful web service that allows you to perform management tasks on the Security Management Server using HTTP requests. References: Check Point Management APIs

 Automatic affinity means that if SecureXL is running, the affinity for each interface is automatically reset every 60 seconds based on the current traffic load. This ensures optimal performance and load balancing of SecureXL instances. References: SecureXL Mechanism

When configuring Management HA, you have to take into consideration that the Database revisions will not be synchronized between the management servers. Database revisions are snapshots of the database that are created manually or automatically when installing a policy or saving changes. They are stored locally on each management server and are not replicated by Management HA. The other options are either not true or not relevant to Management HA. References: Check Point R81 Installation and Upgrade Guide

To fully enable Dynamic Dispatcher on a Security Gateway, you need to run the following command in Expert mode then reboot:

This command sets the multi-core mode to 9, which means that Dynamic Dispatcher is enabled without Firewall Priority Queues. Dynamic Dispatcher is a feature that optimizes the performance of Security Gateways with multiple CPU cores by dynamically allocating traffic to different cores based on their load and priority. Dynamic Dispatcher can improve the throughput and scalability of the Security Gateway, especially for traffic that is not accelerated by SecureXL. The other commands are not valid or do not enable Dynamic Dispatcher. References: R81 Performance Tuning Administration Guide

CPInfo is an auto-updatable utility that collects diagnostics data on a customer's machine at the time of execution and uploads it to Check Point servers (it replaces the standalone cp_uploader utility for uploading files to Check Point servers).

The CPInfo output file allows analyzing customer setups from a remote location. Check Point support engineers can open the CPInfo file in a demo mode, while viewing actual customer Security Policies and Objects. This allows the in-depth analysis of customer's configuration and environment settings.

References:

 SSL Network Extender (SNX) has two modes of operation: Network Mode and Application Mode. Network Mode provides full network connectivity to the remote user, while Application Mode provides access to specific applications on the corporate network. References: [SSL Network Extender]

 When doing a Stand-Alone Installation, you would install the Security Management Server with the Security Gateway as the other Check Point architecture component. A Stand-Alone Installation is where the Security Management Server and the Security Gateway are installed on the same machine2. The other options are either not Check Point architecture components, or not suitable for a Stand-Alone Installation. References: Check Point R81 Installation and Upgrade Guide

The features that are only supported with R81.20 Gateways and not with R77.x are described in option C:

"C. The rule base can be built of layers, each containing a set of the security rules. Layers are inspected in the order in which they are defined, allowing control over the rule base flow and which security functionalities take precedence."

This feature, known as Rule Base Layers, allows for greater flexibility and control in organizing and prioritizing security rules within the rule base.

Options A, B, and D do not specifically pertain to features introduced in R81.20 and are available in earlier versions as well.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 Gateway API is not an example of a Check Point API. Check Point APIs are interfaces that enable interactions with Check Point products using automation scripts or external applications. The examples of Check Point APIs are Management API, OPSEC SDK, Threat Prevention API, Identity Awareness Web Services API, and others4. Gateway API is not a valid Check Point API name. References: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide, Check Point APIs

PDP is not a valid CPVIEW view. CPVIEW is a command-line tool that shows the status of different system parameters, such as CPU, memory, disk, network, and firewall. The valid views are IDA, RAD, VPN, FW, QoS, and others. PDP is a process that handles identity awareness and authentication. References: Check Point R81 Gaia Administration Guide, Check Point Identity Awareness Administration Guide R81

Check Point Protect is a lightweight app that can be used to gather and analyze threats to your mobile device. It provides real-time threat intelligence, device posture assessment, and secure browsing protection3. The other applications are either not designed for mobile devices, or do not offer threat analysis features. References: R81 CCSA & CCSE exams released featuring Promo for… - Check Point …, Check Point Protect - Apps on Google Play

SecureXL Templating is a feature that accelerates the processing of packets that belong to the same connection or session by creating a template for the first packet and applying it to the subsequent packets. SecureXL Templating is precluded by factors that prevent the creation of a template, such as source port ranges, encrypted connections, NAT, QoS, etc. References: SecureXL Mechanism

 In R81, IPS is managed by the Threat Prevention Policy. The Threat Prevention Policy is a unified policy that allows you to configure and enforce IPS, Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, Threat Emulation, and Threat Extraction settings in one place. References: Threat Prevention Administration Guide

 The command fw ctl pstat can be used to verify the number of active concurrent connections on a gateway. This command displays various statistics about the firewall kernel, such as memory usage, CPU utilization, packet rates, and connection table information. The output of this command includes a line that shows the current number of connections and the peak number of connections since the last reboot. For example:

This means that there are currently 1234 active connections out of a maximum of 8192 connections, which is 15% of the connection table capacity. The peak number of connections since the last reboot was 2345. 

Ken can use either of the two commands lock database override or unlock database to obtain a configuration lock from another administrator on R81 Security Management Server via CLI. These commands allow him to override the existing lock and gain exclusive access to the database. He can also use the WebUI to perform the same action. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, New Courses and Certificates for R81.20 - Check Point CheckMates

 To set the IP address and default gateway of the Management interface on a Check Point appliance, you can use the following commands:

• set interface Mgmt ipv4-address 192.168.80.200 mask-length 24 - This command sets the IPv4 address of the Management interface to 192.168.80.200 and the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 (24 bits).
• set static-route default nexthop gateway address 192.168.80.1 on - This command sets the default gateway to 192.168.80.1 and enables the static route.
• save config - This command saves the configuration changes to the appliance.

These commands are documented in the Check Point appliance initial installation guide, which you can find in the web search results.

The other options are incorrect because they use invalid syntax or parameters for the commands. For example, option B uses add static-route instead of set static-route, option C uses 0.0.0.0. instead of 0.0.0.0, and option D uses add static-route default instead of set static-route default.

According to the Check Point website, INSPECT Engine is the technology that extracts detailed information from packets and stores that information in state tables. INSPECT Engine is the core of Check Point’s Stateful Inspection technology, which enables Security Gateways to inspect traffic at multiple layers and enforce security policies. The other technologies are either not related or not specific enough. References: INSPECT Engine

 The order of NAT priorities is determined by the type of NAT rule that is applied to the traffic. There are three types of NAT rules in Check Point: static NAT, IP pool NAT, and hide NAT12.

• Static NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a single IP address to another single IP address. It is usually used to allow external hosts to access internal servers or devices. Static NAT has the highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied before the security policy is enforced12.
• IP pool NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a range of IP addresses to another range of IP addresses. It is usually used to balance the load among multiple servers or devices. IP pool NAT has the second highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.
• Hide NAT: This type of NAT rule hides a group of IP addresses behind a single IP address or an interface. It is usually used to allow internal hosts to access external resources. Hide NAT has the lowest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.

Therefore, the order of NAT priorities is: static NAT, IP pool NAT, hide NAT.

References: 1: Check Point R81 Security Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 209 2: Check Point R81 Security Engineering Guide - Check Point Software, page 163

According to the Check Point R81 release notes, acceleration is not supported for connections that require a Security server, such as HTTPS Inspection, Content Awareness, or Anti-Virus. The Security server performs deep inspection and modification of the traffic, which prevents acceleration. The other options are either false or not the most likely reason. References: Check Point R81

Running the command fw unloadlocal on the Security Management Server will remove the installed Security Policy from the local firewall module. This command is useful for troubleshooting purposes when there is a problem with the policy installation or enforcement. However, it will also expose the Security Management Server to potential attacks, so it should be used with caution. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, R81 CCSA & CCSE exams released featuring Promo for… - Check Point …

The Access Control policy supports two policy layers. These are the Network layer and the Application & URL Filtering layer. The Network layer contains rules that control the network traffic based on the source, destination, service, and action. The Application & URL Filtering layer contains rules that control the application and web access based on the application, site category, and user identity12.

The Access Control policy can also use inline layers, which are sub-policies that are embedded within a rule. Inline layers allow more granular control over specific traffic or scenarios, such as VPN, Mobile Access, or different user groups13. However, inline layers are not considered as separate policy layers, but rather as extensions of the parent rule4.

Therefore, the correct answer is A. The Access Control policy supports two policy layers.

References:

• 1, Policy Layers in R80.x - Check Point CheckMates
• 2, Access Control policies, layers, and rules | Check Point Firewall …
• 3, Chapter 8: Introduction to Policies, Layers, and Rules - Check Point …
• 4, Creating an Access Control Policy - Check Point Software

 What can cause Vanessa unnecessary problems, if she didn’t check all requirements for migration to R81, is missing an installed R77.20 Add-on on Security Management Server. R77.20 Add-on is a package that adds new features and enhancements to R77 Security Management Server, such as support for new appliances, Gaia OS features, VPN features, etc. One of the requirements for migrating to R81 from R77 Security Management Server is to have R77.20 Add-on installed on the server. If Vanessa did not check this requirement and tried to migrate without R77.20 Add-on, she would encounter errors and failures during the migration process. The other options are either not relevant or not problematic for migration to R81. 

The R81 SmartConsole, SmartEvent GUI client, and SmartView Web Application consolidate billions of logs and show them as prioritized security events. The SmartView Web Application is a web-based interface that allows you to access the SmartEvent Server from any browser. You can use the SmartView Web Application to view and analyze security events, generate reports, and configure SmartEvent settings12.

References: 1: Check Point R81 SmartConsole User Guide - Check Point Software, page 10 2: Check Point R81 SmartEvent Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 9

The best suggestion for Pamela to make sure she successfully captures entire traffic in context of Firewall and problematic traffic is: Pamela should check SecureXL status on DMZ Security gateway and if it’s turned ON. She should turn OFF SecureXL before using fw monitor to avoid misleading traffic captures. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. However, this also means that some traffic might not be seen by fw monitor, which is a tool that captures packets at different inspection points in the Firewall kernel. Therefore, to ensure that fw monitor captures all traffic, SecureXL should be turned OFF before using fw monitor. The other suggestions are either incorrect or less effective in capturing traffic. 

 Office mode is a feature that allows a security gateway to assign a remote client an IP address from a network that is protected by the security gateway. This way, the remote client can access resources on the internal network as if it was physically connected to it. The IP address is assigned to the remote client after the user authenticates for a tunnel, and it is routable, meaning that it can be reached by other hosts on the network. Office mode is useful for scenarios where the remote client needs to use applications that rely on IP addresses, such as VoIP or file sharing12.

References: 1: Support, Support Requests, Training … - Check Point Software 2: Gaia R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software

 If Deyra sees the gateway status as shown in the image, it means that there is a blade reporting a problem. The red exclamation mark indicates that one or more blades on the gateway have an issue that needs attention. The issue could be related to configuration, license, policy, or other factors. Deyra can hover over the icon to see more details about the problem. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, New Courses and Certificates for R81.20 - Check Point CheckMates

According to the Check Point R81 training course, the Proxy ARP feature for Manual NAT in R81.20 requires the configuration of the local.arp file on the Security Gateway. This file contains the mapping of IP addresses to MAC addresses for NATed hosts. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

The way SSL VPN and IPSec VPN are different is that IPSec VPN uses an additional virtual adapter; SSL VPN uses the client network adapter only. SSL VPN and IPSec VPN are two types of VPN technologies that provide secure remote access to network resources over the internet. SSL VPN uses SSL/TLS protocol to establish an encrypted tunnel between the client and the server, and does not require any additional software or hardware on the client side. IPSec VPN uses IPSec protocol to establish an encrypted tunnel between the client and the server, and requires a dedicated virtual adapter on the client side to handle the IPSec traffic. The other options are either incorrect or not relevant to SSL VPN and IPSec VPN.

 The first thing that must be done if “fwm sic_reset” could not be completed is to change internal CA via cpconfig. Fwm sic_reset is a command that allows administrators to reset Secure Internal Communication (SIC) between Security Management Server and Security Gateways or other Check Point modules. SIC is a mechanism that ensures secure and authenticated communication between Check Point components by using certificates issued by an internal Certificate Authority (ICA). If fwm sic_reset fails, it means that there is a problem with the ICA or the certificates that prevents SIC from being reset. To resolve this problem, administrators need to change internal CA via cpconfig, which is a command that allows administrators to configure various settings on Security Gateways or Management Servers, including the ICA. Changing internal CA via cpconfig will create a new ICA with a new certificate, and allow SIC to be reset with the new certificate.

 The TCP/IP model is a four-layer model that describes how data is transmitted over a network. The four layers are: Application, Transport, Internet, and Network Access. The Application layer provides services and protocols for applications to communicate with each other. The Transport layer provides reliable or unreliable data delivery between hosts. The Internet layer provides routing and addressing of packets across networks. The Network Access layer provides physical and logical access to the network media. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

The tool that is used to enable ClusterXL is cpconfig. ClusterXL is a software-based Load Sharing and High Availability solution that distributes network traffic between clusters of redundant Security Gateways1. ClusterXL can be enabled on Check Point Security Gateways running on Gaia OS, SecurePlatform OS, IPSO OS, or X-Series XOS2.

To enable ClusterXL, the administrator must run the cpconfig command on each cluster member and select the option to enable ClusterXL. This will prompt the administrator to choose the ClusterXL mode (High Availability or Load Sharing) and the Cluster Control Protocol (CCP) mode (Broadcast or Multicast). After enabling ClusterXL, the administrator must reboot the cluster members for the changes to take effect34.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. The tool that is used to enable ClusterXL is cpconfig.

References:

• 1, Introduction to ClusterXL - Check Point Software
• 2, ClusterXL Requirements and Compatibility - Check Point Software
• 3, Configuring ClusterXL - Check Point Software
• 4, How to configure ClusterXL - Check Point Software Technologies

 The command used to manually failover a Multi-Version Cluster during the upgrade is clusterXL_admin down in Clish. This command causes the cluster member to stop passing traffic and switch to the Down state. This triggers a failover to another cluster member that is in the Active or Ready state. This command can be used during a Multi-Version Cluster upgrade to manually control which cluster member handles the traffic. The other options are not valid commands for manually failing over a Multi-Version Cluster. References: : Check Point Software, Getting Started, Manually Failing Over a Cluster Member.

Check Point security components are divided into the following components: GUI Client, Security Management, Security Gateway. GUI Client is the graphical user interface that allows administrators to configure, manage, and monitor Check Point products and security policies. Security Management is the server that stores and enforces the security policies and provides logging and reporting functions. Security Gateway is the device that inspects and filters network traffic according to the security policies. 

A star community is a VPN topology where one or more satellites connect to a center gateway. The center gateway can be a Security Gateway or a Security Management Server. The VPN routing option determines how the traffic is routed between the satellites and the center, and between the satellites themselves. There are three VPN routing options available in a star community12:

• To center only: The satellites can only communicate with the center gateway, and not with each other or with any other VPN targets. This option is useful for remote access clients that only need to access resources on the center gateway.
• To center, or through the center to other satellites, to Internet and other VPN targets: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets through the center gateway. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway, as well as on other branch offices, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets.
• To center and to other satellites through center: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites through the center gateway. However, they cannot communicate with Internet hosts or other VPN targets. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway and on other branch offices, but not on Internet hosts or other VPN targets.

Therefore, the options A (To satellites through center only) and D (To center only) are not valid VPN routing options in a star community.

References: 1: Remote Access VPN R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 13 2: Gaia R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 1030

 For best practices, the recommended time for automatic unlocking of locked admin accounts is 30 minutes at least. Admin accounts can be locked due to failed login attempts, password expiration, or manual locking by another admin. To prevent unauthorized access or brute force attacks, locked admin accounts should not be unlocked automatically too soon. The recommended minimum time for automatic unlocking is 30 minutes, which can be configured from the SmartConsole under Manage > Permissions and Administrators > Advanced > Unlock locked administrators after. 

 The command that would be used to set the network interfaces’ affinity in Manual mode is sim affinity -s. Sim affinity is a command that allows administrators to view and modify the CPU core affinity of network interfaces and SecureXL instances. Core affinity is a feature that binds network interfaces and SecureXL instances to specific CPU cores, which improves the performance and load balancing of the Security Gateway. Sim affinity -s sets the network interfaces’ affinity in Manual mode, which means that administrators can manually assign network interfaces to CPU cores. The other options are either invalid or perform different functions. 

The default commands that appear when right-clicking the IP address, source or destination, in an event in SmartEvent are ping, whois, nslookup, and Telnet. SmartEvent is a unified security event management solution that provides visibility, analysis, and reporting of security events across multiple Check Point products. SmartEvent has a feature that allows administrators to run common command line executables that can assist in investigating events. Right-clicking the IP address, source or destination, in an event provides a list of default and customized commands that can be executed on the IP address of the active cell. The default commands are ping, whois, nslookup, and Telnet. Ping is a command that tests the connectivity and latency between two hosts by sending packets and measuring the response time. Whois is a command that queries a database for information about the owner and registrar of a domain name or an IP address. Nslookup is a command that queries a DNS server for information about a domain name or an IP address, such as its IP address, name server, mail server, etc. Telnet is a command that establishes a remote connection to another host using the Telnet protocol. 

 Log Consolidator is NOT a SmartEvent component. SmartEvent is a unified security event management solution that provides visibility, analysis, and reporting of security events across multiple Check Point products. SmartEvent consists of three main components: SmartEvent Server, Correlation Unit, and Log Server. SmartEvent Server is responsible for storing and displaying security events in SmartConsole and SmartEventWeb. Correlation Unit is responsible for collecting and correlating logs from various sources and generating security events based on predefined or custom scenarios. Log Server is responsible for receiving and indexing logs from Security Gateways and other Check Point modules. Log Consolidator is not a valid component or blade of SmartEvent.

The Implicit Clean-up Rule is another name for the Clean-up Rule, which is the last rule in every policy layer. The Clean-up Rule defines the default action for traffic that does not match any of the preceding rules in the layer. The default action is to drop the traffic and log it, but it can be changed by the administrator. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

The option that is NOT an option to calculate the traffic direction is Outgoing. Traffic direction is a parameter that determines how traffic is classified as internal or external based on its source and destination. Traffic direction can be calculated using three options: Incoming, Internal, or External. Incoming means that traffic is classified as internal if its destination is one of the Security Gateway’s interfaces, and external otherwise. Internal means that traffic is classified as internal if its source or destination belongs to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. External means that traffic is classified as internal if both its source and destination belong to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. Outgoing is not a valid option to calculate traffic direction. 

The SmartEvent R81 Web application for real-time event monitoring is called SmartEventWeb. SmartEventWeb is a web-based interface that allows administrators to view and analyze security events from various sources, such as logs, reports, incidents, and indicators. SmartEventWeb provides dashboards, widgets, filters, and drill-down options to help administrators gain insights into their security posture. The other options are either incorrect or refer to different applications.

The command that shows the status of processes is cpwd_admin list. Cpwd_admin is a command that allows administrators to manage processes that are registered with the Check Point WatchDog (CPWD) daemon. CPWD is a daemon that monitors the health of critical processes on the Security Gateway or Management Server, and restarts them if they fail or stop responding. Cpwd_admin list shows the process name, PID, status, start time, monitor status, and number of restarts for each process registered with CPWD. 

Gateway API is NOT an example of a Check Point API. Check Point API is a general term that refers to various application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow external applications to interact with Check Point products and services using standard methods such as HTTP(S) requests and JSON objects. There are several types of Check Point APIs, such as Management API, Threat Prevention API, OPSEC SDK, etc. Management API is an API that allows external applications to configure, manage, and monitor Check Point management server using web services. Threat Prevention API is an API that allows external applications to send files or URLs to Check Point Threat Prevention products for scanning and analysis using web services. OPSEC SDK is an API that allows external applications to integrate with Check Point OPSEC products using C/C++ libraries and protocols. Gateway API is not a valid or existing type of Check Point API.

The error “no proposal chosen” indicates that the VPN gateway did not find a matching proposal for the IKE Phase 1 negotiation. This phase is responsible for establishing a secure channel between the VPN peers, using a pre-shared secret or a certificate. The proposal consists of parameters such as encryption algorithm, hash algorithm, Diffie-Hellman group, and lifetime. If the VPN gateway does not receive a proposal that matches its own configuration, it will reject the connection attempt and log the error “no proposal chosen” 1.

To troubleshoot this issue, one should verify that the VPN peers have the same IKE Phase 1 settings, such as:

• The same pre-shared secret or certificate
• The same encryption algorithm (e.g., AES-256)
• The same hash algorithm (e.g., SHA-256)
• The same Diffie-Hellman group (e.g., Group 14)
• The same lifetime (e.g., 86400 seconds)

One can use the command vpn tu on the VPN gateway to view the current IKE Phase 1 settings and compare them with the other peer. Alternatively, one can use the SmartConsole to check the VPN community properties and the gateway object properties for the IKE Phase 1 settings 2.

References: 1: Troubleshooting the “no proposal chosen” error - Check Point Software 2: Support, Support Requests, Training … - Check Point Software

 The statement that is most correct regarding about “CoreXL Dynamic Dispatcher” is: The CoreXL FW instances assignment mechanism is based on the utilization of CPU cores. CoreXL Dynamic Dispatcher is a feature that allows the Security Gateway to dynamically assign connections to the most available CoreXL FW instance, based on the CPU core utilization. This improves the performance and load balancing of the Security Gateway, especially when handling connections with different processing requirements. The other statements are either incorrect or describe the CoreXL Static Dispatcher mechanism, which assigns connections based on a hash function of the Source IP, Destination IP, and IP Protocol type.

 UserCheck is a communication tool used to inform a user about a website or application they are trying to access. UserCheck allows administrators to interact with users in real time, informing them of the security policy and the actions they need to take. UserCheck can also enable users to self-remediate incidents or request exceptions from the administrator. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

Check Point APIs let system administrators and developers make changes to the security policy with CLI tools and web-services. You can use an API to:

• Use an automated script to perform common tasks

• Integrate Check Point products with 3rd party solutions

• Create products that use and enhance the Check Point solution

References:

 For packets that do not pass Firewall Kernel Inspection and are rejected by the rule definition, packets are dropped with logs and without sending a negative acknowledgment. Firewall Kernel Inspection is the process of applying security policies and rules to network traffic by the Firewall kernel module. If a packet does not match any rule or matches a rule with an action of Drop or Reject, the packet is dropped by the Firewall kernel module. The difference between Drop and Reject is that Drop silently discards the packet without informing the sender, while Reject discards the packet and sends a negative acknowledgment (such as an ICMP message) to the sender. However, both Drop and Reject actions generate logs that record the details of the dropped packets, such as source, destination, protocol, port, rule number, etc. The other options are either incorrect or describe different scenarios.

The path to monitor the compliance status of the Check Point R81.20 based management is Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. Compliance View is a feature that allows administrators to monitor and assess the compliance level of their Check Point products and security policies based on best practices and industry standards. Compliance View provides a dashboard that shows the overall compliance status, compliance score, compliance trends, compliance issues, compliance reports, and compliance blades for different security aspects, such as data protection, threat prevention, identity awareness, etc. To access Compliance View in R81.20 SmartConsole, administrators need to go to Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. The other options are either incorrect or not available in R81.20.

The SandBlast Agent is designed to prevent malware from spreading within the network if it enters an end user’s system. SandBlast Agent is a lightweight endpoint security solution that protects devices from advanced threats such as ransomware, phishing, zero-day attacks, and data exfiltration. SandBlast Agent uses various technologies such as behavioral analysis, anti-exploitation, anti-ransomware, threat emulation, threat extraction, and forensics to detect and block malware before it can harm the device or the network. The other options are either not the main purpose or not the functionality of SandBlast Agent. 

 To ensure that VMAC mode is enabled, the CLI command that should be run on all cluster members is fw ctl get int fwha_vmac_global_param_enabled; result of command should return value 1. VMAC mode is a feature that allows ClusterXL to use virtual MAC addresses for cluster interfaces, instead of physical MAC addresses. This improves the failover performance and compatibility of ClusterXL with switches and routers. To check if VMAC mode is enabled, the command fw ctl get int fwha_vmac_global_param_enabled can be used, which returns 1 if VMAC mode is enabled, and 0 if VMAC mode is disabled. 

Browser-based Authentication is a method of acquiring identities from unidentified users by sending them to a web page where they can log in and authenticate. Browser-based Authentication uses two techniques to acquire identities: Captive Portal and Transparent Kerberos Authentication1.

Captive Portal is a simple method that attempts authentication through a web interface before granting a user access to Intranet resources. When a user tries to access a protected resource, they are redirected to a web page where they have to enter their credentials. The credentials are verified by the Identity Awareness Security Gateway or an external authentication server. If the authentication is successful, the user’s identity is associated with their IP address and they are allowed to access the resource12.

Transparent Kerberos Authentication is a more seamless method that leverages the existing Kerberos infrastructure in the network. When a user tries to access a protected resource, the Identity Awareness Security Gateway intercepts the Kerberos ticket request and extracts the user’s identity from it. The user’s identity is then associated with their IP address and they are allowed to access the resource without any additional prompts. This method requires that the Identity Awareness Security Gateway is configured as a trusted proxy in the Active Directory domain12.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Browser-based Authentication sends users to a web page to acquire identities using Captive Portal and Transparent Kerberos Authentication.

References:

• 1, THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS ROLES - Check Point Software, page 2
• 2, Browser-based Authentication Check Point - Bing
• 3, How to Configure Client Authentication - Check Point Software, page 1
• 4, Identity Sources - Check Point Software
• 5, Configuring Browser-Based Authentication - Check Point Software
• 6, Two Factor Authentication - Check Point Software

The command to show SecureXL status is fwaccel stat. This command displays information about SecureXL acceleration, such as the number of accelerated and non-accelerated connections, the reason for non-acceleration, and the SecureXL device name and mode. The other commands are either invalid or show different statistics.

 According to the Check Point R81 training course, the medium path is available only when CoreXL is enabled. CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that allows multiple CPU cores to process traffic simultaneously. The medium path handles packets that require deeper inspection or content awareness, such as IPS, Anti-Virus, or URL Filtering. The other paths are either available regardless of CoreXL or not valid terms. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

According to the Check Point Resource Library, the minimum amount of RAM needed for a Threat Prevention Appliance is 4 GB. This applies to both physical and virtual appliances. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant. References: Check Point Resource Library

When John detects a high load on the sync interface, the recommended solution is to implement a delay in the sync process for short-lived connections like HTTP. Here's an explanation of each option:

A. Delaying the sync for 2 seconds for short connections like HTTP services is a common practice to reduce the load on the sync interface. This allows the interface to handle the incoming connections more effectively.

B. Adding a second interface to handle sync traffic might be a viable solution, but it can be more complex and costly compared to implementing a delay for short connections.

C. Not syncing short connections like HTTP services is not a recommended approach because it may lead to synchronization issues and potential data inconsistencies between cluster members.

D. Delaying the sync for ICMP (ping) services is not a common practice and may not effectively address the high load issue on the sync interface.

Therefore, option A is the most recommended solution as it addresses the issue by introducing a delay for short-lived connections, optimizing the sync process without causing synchronization problems.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 In the Firewall chain mode FFF refers to all packets. Firewall chain mode is a feature that allows administrators to define how packets are processed by different firewall kernel modules in inbound and outbound directions. FFF is one of the predefined chain modes that applies all firewall kernel modules (Firewall, VPN, IPS, etc.) to all packets, regardless of their state or connection. This mode provides maximum security, but also consumes more CPU resources. 

Nothing needs to be done to get SIC to work if there is a Geo-Protection policy blocking Australia and a network requires a Check Point Firewall to be installed in Sydney, Australia. SIC stands for Secure Internal Communication, and it is a mechanism that ensures secure and authenticated communication between Check Point components by using certificates issued by an internal Certificate Authority (ICA). SIC is not affected by Geo-Protection policy, which is a feature that allows administrators to block or allow traffic based on the geographic location of the source or destination IP address. Geo-Protection policy only applies to data traffic, not control traffic, and SIC uses control traffic to establish trust between Check Point components. 

The methods of SandBlast Threat Emulation deployment are Cloud, Appliance, and Private. SandBlast Threat Emulation is a solution that detects and prevents zero-day attacks by emulating files in a sandbox environment and analyzing their behavior for malicious indicators. SandBlast Threat Emulation can be deployed in three different methods: Cloud, Appliance, and Private. Cloud method is when the files are sent to the Check Point cloud service for emulation and analysis. This method does not require any additional hardware or software on the customer’s side, and provides the fastest updates and feeds from ThreatCloud. Appliance method is when the files are sent to a dedicated appliance on the customer’s network for emulation and analysis. This method provides more control and privacy for the customer, and supports more file types and sizes. Private method is when the files are sent to a private cloud service on the customer’s network for emulation and analysis. This method provides the highest level of control and privacy for the customer, and supports customizing the emulation environment and scenarios.

The default port used by the AMON server when using CPSTAT is 18192. CPSTAT is a command-line tool that allows administrators to monitor various statistics and status information about Check Point products and components, such as CPU usage, memory usage, policy installation, cluster state, etc. CPSTAT uses AMON (Advanced Monitoring) protocol to communicate with AMON server, which is a daemon that runs on Security Gateways or Management Servers and collects and provides AMON data. By default, AMON server listens on TCP port 18192 for incoming CPSTAT requests.

Tom’s changes will have been stored on the Management when he reconnects and he will not lose any of his work.

This is because SmartConsole has a feature called Concurrent Administration, which allows multiple administrators to work on the same Security Policy simultaneously, without blocking each other or creating conflicts. Concurrent Administration uses a locking mechanism to prevent multiple administrators from modifying the same rule or object at the same time. When an administrator clicks on a rule or an object, it becomes locked and a lock icon appears next to it. The lock icon shows the name of the administrator who is working on that rule or object, and prevents other administrators from editing it until it is unlocked12.

Concurrent Administration also has a feature called Session Persistence, which preserves the changes made by an administrator in case of a network failure or a SmartConsole crash. When an administrator reconnects to the Management Server after a network failure or a SmartConsole crash, they can resume their work from where they left off, without losing any changes. The changes are stored locally on the administrator’s machine until they are published to the Management Server13.

Therefore, if Tom has connected to the R81 Management Server remotely using SmartConsole and is in the process of making some Rule Base changes, when he suddenly loses connectivity, his changes will not be lost. They will be stored locally on his machine and he can resume his work when he reconnects to the Management Server.

 According to the Check Point website, SmartEvent Maps is a feature that was supported in previous versions of SmartEvent, but is not supported in R81. SmartEvent Maps displayed a graphical representation of security events on a world map. The other options are either supported or not valid features in R81. References: SmartEvent Maps

 When SecureXL is enabled, all packets should be accelerated, except packets that match the following conditions: CIFS packets. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. However, some packets cannot be accelerated by SecureXL due to various reasons, such as unsupported features, security policy settings, or protocol limitations. One example of packets that cannot be accelerated by SecureXL are CIFS packets, which are used for file sharing and access over SMB protocol. CIFS packets are not accelerated by SecureXL because they require stateful inspection by the Firewall kernel. 

 Mobile Access is not part of the SandBlast component. Mobile Access is a software blade that provides secure remote access to corporate resources from various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Mobile Access supports different connectivity methods, such as SSL VPN, IPsec VPN, and Mobile Enterprise Application Store (MEAS). Mobile Access also integrates with Mobile Threat Prevention (MTP) to protect mobile devices from malware and network attacks. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Mobile Access Administration Guide, SandBlast Mobile Datasheet

 SecureXL templates are a mechanism to accelerate the rate of connection establishment by grouping connections that match a particular service and whose sole differentiating element is the source port. SecureXL templates enable even the very first packets of a TCP handshake to be accelerated, without waiting for the Firewall kernel to create a connection entry. The first packets of the first connection on the same service will be forwarded to the Firewall kernel, which will then create a template of the connection. The template will contain all the relevant information for the connection, such as source and destination IP addresses, destination port, NAT information, policy decision, etc. The template will be used by SecureXL to handle subsequent connections on the same service, without involving the Firewall kernel. This reduces the CPU load and increases the throughput.

There are three types of SecureXL templates: Accept, Drop, and NAT. Accept templates are used for connections that are allowed by the Firewall policy. Drop templates are used for connections that are blocked by the Firewall policy. NAT templates are used for connections that require NAT translation. Deny templates are not a valid type of SecureXL template.

References: SecureXL NAT Templates in R80.20 and lower, Part 3 - SecureXL, Security Gateway Performance Optimization - Part 5 - SecureXL

The most recommended way to install patches and hotfixes is CPUSE (Check Point Update Service Engine). CPUSE is a tool that automates the process of upgrading and installing software packages on Check Point devices. CPUSE can work in online mode or offline mode. Online mode requires an Internet connection to download the packages from Check Point servers. Offline mode allows you to download the packages manually from another device and transfer them to the target device using a USB drive or SCP. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, CPUSE Administration Guide

 For ClusterXL to work properly, one of the mandatory requirements is that the Magic MAC number must be unique per cluster node. The Magic MAC number is a MAC address that is used by ClusterXL to hide the physical MAC addresses of the cluster members from the network. This way, the cluster can present a single virtual MAC address to the network, and avoid ARP issues when a failover occurs. The Magic MAC number is derived from the Cluster Virtual IP address, which must also be unique per cluster. 

The secure application for Mail/Calendar for mobile devices in Check Point is called "Capsule Workspace." Capsule Workspace provides secure access to email and calendar data on mobile devices while maintaining security policies and controls.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

 User-mode processes are processes that run in the user space of the operating system, as opposed to kernel-mode processes that run in the kernel space. User-mode processes are usually less privileged and have less access to system resources than kernel-mode processes. Check Point products use both user-mode and kernel-mode processes to provide various functionalities and services.

The following are some of the user-mode processes that can be seen on the management server and gateway:

• fwd: This process is responsible for policy installation, logging, and communication with other Check Point components. It runs on both the management server and gateway.
• cpd: This process is responsible for licensing, certificate management, and communication with SmartConsole. It runs on both the management server and gateway.
• cpwd: This process is responsible for monitoring and restarting other processes. It runs on both the management server and gateway.

The following is a user-mode process that can only be seen on the management server:

• fwm: This process is responsible for managing the security policy database, compiling the security policy, and generating reports. It runs only on the management server.

Therefore, the correct answer is B.

References: Check Point Processes and Daemons, Check Point Processes Cheat Sheet, Check Point Firewall Security Solution

To see the cluster status in CLI expert mode, you can use the command cphaprob stat. This command displays the status of the Check Point High Availability cluster. It provides information about the state of the cluster members, such as "Active," "Standby," or "Collision."

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 The Threat Prevention profile in Check Point R81.20 SmartConsole application allows you to enforce the following software blades: IPS, Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, Threat Emulation, and Threat Extraction. These software blades provide comprehensive protection against various types of threats, such as network attacks, malware, ransomware, phishing, and zero-day exploits. You can configure the profile settings for each software blade, such as the action to take, the protection scope, and the exceptions. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Threat Prevention Administration Guide

SmartView Monitor is a GUI client that is supported in R81. It allows you to monitor the network and security performance of your Security Gateways and devices5. You can use it to view real-time statistics, alerts, logs, reports, and graphs6. The other GUI clients are not supported in R81 because:

• A. SmartProvisioning was replaced by SmartLSM in R80.20 and later versions7. SmartLSM is a unified solution for managing large-scale deployments of Security Gateways8.
• B. SmartView Tracker was replaced by SmartLog in R80 and later versions9. SmartLog is a powerful log analysis tool that enables fast and easy access to log data from multiple Security Gateways10.
• D. SmartLog is not a GUI client, but a web-based application that runs on the Security Management Server or Log Server10. You can access it from any web browser or from SmartConsole.

References: SmartView Monitor R81 Help, SmartView Monitor R81 Administration Guide, What’s New in Check Point R80.20, SmartLSM R81 Help, What’s New in Check Point R80, SmartLog R81 Help

In R81.20, dbedit scripts are being replaced by the mgmt_cli utility for managing and configuring security policies and objects. Here's an explanation of each option:

A. dbedit is not supported in R81.20: This is not entirely accurate. While dbedit is still available and functional in R81.20, it is being phased out in favor of mgmt_cli for policy and object management.

B. dbedit is fully supported in R81.20: This statement is not accurate because although dbedit can still be used, it is not the primary recommended tool for policy management in R81.20.

C. You can use dbedit to modify threat prevention or access policies, but not create or modify layers: This statement is partially true, but it does not provide the complete picture. You can use dbedit for some policy-related tasks, but it's not the primary tool for policy management in R81.20.

D. dbedit scripts are being replaced by mgmt_cli in R81.20: This is the correct and recommended approach. mgmt_cli is the primary tool for managing security policies and objects in R81.20, and it is gradually replacing dbedit for these tasks.

Therefore, option D is the most accurate and recommended answer.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

The command vpn tu tlist shows detailed information about VPN tunnels, such as the peer IP address, encryption domain, IKE phase 1 and phase 2 status, encryption algorithm, and tunnel uptime. The command vpn tu is an interactive tool that allows users to list, delete, or reconnect VPN tunnels. The command cpview is a real-time performance monitoring tool that shows various statistics about the system and network. References: VPN Administration Guide, SK97638 - What is cpview Utility and How to Use it

 The fwaccel stat command on the gateway shows the status of SecureXL acceleration, including the number of accelerated and non-accelerated connections, and the reason for non-acceleration. The reason for non-acceleration can be either a rule that disables templating, or a feature that is not supported by SecureXL. To determine which rule disables templating, the administrator can use the -s option to show the rule numbers and names. For example:

The configuration file that contains the structure of the Security Server showing the port numbers, corresponding protocol name, and status is $FWDIR/conf/fwauthd.conf. This file is used for configuring authentication services in Check Point Security Servers.

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to Security Server configuration.

Capsule Connect and Capsule Workspace are both components of Check Point's remote access solution, but they serve different purposes and have distinct features:

A. Capsule Connect provides a Layer 3 VPN, which allows remote users to connect securely to their corporate network. It typically provides network-level access, allowing users to access resources on the corporate network. On the other hand, Capsule Workspace provides a secure workspace environment, including a virtual desktop with usable applications. It is more focused on providing application-level access to users in a secure manner.

B. This statement is partially true. Capsule Workspace is designed to provide secure access to a wide range of applications and resources, not limited to specific applications.

C. Capsule Connect does provide business data isolation by creating a secure VPN tunnel for remote users, ensuring that their network traffic is isolated from the public internet.

D. Capsule Connect usually requires an installed application or VPN client on the client device to establish a secure connection to the corporate network. This statement is not entirely accurate because an installed application or client is typically required.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer as it accurately distinguishes between Capsule Connect and Capsule Workspace based on their primary functionalities.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

The purpose of a SmartEvent Correlation Unit is to evaluate logs from the log server component to identify patterns/threats and convert them to events. The SmartEvent Correlation Unit is a software module that runs on the SmartEvent server or on a dedicated server. It applies correlation rules and logic to the logs received from various sources, such as security gateways, endpoints, or third-party devices. It then generates events that represent security incidents or trends that require attention or action. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, SmartEvent Administration Guide

SandBlast appliances can be deployed in the following modes:

C. Inline/prevent or detect

SandBlast appliances can be deployed in an inline mode where they actively inspect and prevent or detect malicious traffic. In this mode, the appliance sits in the network traffic path and can take actions to block or detect threats in real-time.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide, Check Point documentation on SandBlast.

 A best practice before starting to troubleshoot using the fw monitor tool is to disable SecureXL. SecureXL is a performance acceleration solution that optimizes the packet flow through the Security Gateway. However, SecureXL can also bypass some inspection points and cause some packets to be invisible to fw monitor. Therefore, disabling SecureXL can ensure that fw monitor captures all the relevant packets for troubleshooting purposes. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, fw monitor, SecureXL

 The port used for SmartConsole to connect to the Security Management Server is CPMI port 18191/TCP. CPMI stands for Check Point Management Interface, which is a proprietary protocol that enables secure communication between the SmartConsole and the Security Management Server. CPMI uses SSL encryption and authentication to protect the data exchange. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, SK52421 - Ports used by Check Point software

 The correct command to add an “emailserver1” host with IP address 10.50.23.90 using GAiA management CLI is mgmt: add host name emailserver1 ip-address 10.50.23.90. This command will create a new host object in the Security Management Server database, with the specified name and IP address. The mgmt: prefix indicates that the command is executed on the Security Management Server, and not on the local GAiA machine. The other commands are either missing the mgmt: prefix, or have incorrect syntax or parameters. 

 The main stages of a policy installation are Verification & Compilation, Transfer and Commit. Verification & Compilation is the stage where the Security Management Server checks the validity and consistency of the policy and compiles it into a binary format. Transfer is the stage where the compiled policy is sent to the Security Gateways over a secure channel. Commit is the stage where the Security Gateways activate the new policy and update their connections table accordingly. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Policy Installation Process

Management HA is a feature that allows the Security Management server to have one or more backup Standby Security Management servers that are ready to take over in case of failure1. The Active Security Management server is the one that handles all the management operations, such as policy installation, object creation, configuration backup, etc. The Standby Security Management servers are synchronized with the Active Security Management server and store the same data, such as databases, certificates, CRLs, etc. The Standby Security Management servers can also perform some operations, such as fetching a Security Policy or retrieving a CRL1.

To make changes to the system, such as editing objects or policies, the administrator needs to connect to the Active Security Management server. This is because the Active Security Management server is the only one that can modify the data and synchronize it with the Standby Security Management servers. The administrator can use SmartConsole to connect to the Active Security Management server by entering its IP address or hostname1. The administrator can also use SmartDashboard to connect to the Active Security Management server by selecting Policy > Management High Availability. This shows information about the Security Management server that includes its peers - displayed with the name, status and type of Security Management server1.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. secondary Smartcenter: This is a synonym for a Standby Security Management server, which cannot be used to make changes to the system.
• C. connect virtual IP of Smartcenter HA: This is not a valid option because there is no virtual IP for Smartcenter HA. Each Security Management server has its own IP address and hostname.
• D. primary Smartcenter: This is a synonym for the Active Security Management server, but it is not the correct term to use. The term primary implies that there is only one Active Security Management server, which is not true. The administrator can put the Active Security Management server on standby and promote a Standby Security Management server to active at any time1.

References: How to Configure Management HA

When traffic from source 192.168.1.1 is going to www.google.com, and the Application Control Blade on the gateway is inspecting the traffic with acceleration enabled, it is handled by the Slow Path.

A. Slow Path

The Slow Path is responsible for handling traffic that requires full inspection by various security blades, including the Application Control Blade. Acceleration may offload some processing to the Medium Path or Fast Path, but the Slow Path is still involved in deeper inspection.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 Study Guide, Check Point documentation on traffic acceleration and processing paths.

SmartEvent does not use matching a log against local exclusions to identify events. Local exclusions are filters that are applied to logs before they are sent to the SmartEvent server. They are used to reduce the amount of logs that are forwarded by the Security Gateways or Log Servers, and to avoid sending irrelevant or sensitive logs. Local exclusions do not affect the event detection process, which is performed by the SmartEvent Correlation Unit on the SmartEvent server. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, SmartEvent Administration Guide, SK120193 - How to configure Local Log Filtering on Security Gateway / Cluster / VSX

 The Check Point R81 Identity Awareness Web API uses the REST web services protocol to communicate with external identity sources. REST stands for Representational State Transfer, and it is an architectural style for designing web services that use HTTP methods to access and manipulate resources. The Identity Awareness Web API allows external identity sources to send identity and session information to the Security Gateway, which can then use this information for policy enforcement. 

Mobile Access encrypts all traffic using HTTPS for web-based applications and 3DES or RC4 algorithm for native applications. For end users to access the native applications, they need to install the SSL Network Extender, which is a lightweight VPN client that creates a secure SSL tunnel to the Mobile Access gateway. The SSL Network Extender supports various types of native applications, such as email clients, file sharing, and remote desktop. References: Mobile Access Administration Guide, SSL Network Extender

The correct command to store the GAIA configuration in a file is save configuration 1. This will create a file with the current system level configuration in the home directory of the current user1. The other commands are incorrect because they either do not exist or do not save the configuration to a file. References: 1: Backing up Gaia system level configuration(https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails= &solutionid=sk102234)

The SmartView web application is a web-based interface that allows you to view and analyze logs and events from your Security Gateways and Management Servers1. To access the SmartView web application, you need to use the following link: https:// /smartview/. This link will prompt you to enter your credentials and then take you to the SmartView dashboard. The other options are not correct because:

• A. The link https:///smartviewweb/ is missing a slash (/) between the host name and smartviewweb.
• C. The link https://smartviewweb is missing a slash (/) after the host name and before smartviewweb.
• D. The link https:///smartview is missing a slash (/) at the end.

References: Views and Reports Tutorial R80

SecureXL is a technology that improves the performance of Security Gateway by offloading the processing of some packets from the Firewall kernel to the SecureXL device driver1. SecureXL can handle packets in three different paths, depending on the type and state of the packet2:

• Firewall Path: This is the slowest path, where packets are processed by the Firewall kernel and all the inspection blades. This path is used for packets that require full inspection, such as the first packet of a connection, packets that match a rule with a UTM blade, or packets that are not eligible for acceleration.
• Accelerated Path: This is the fastest path, where packets are processed by the SecureXL device driver and bypass the Firewall kernel. This path is used for packets that belong to an established connection that is marked for acceleration, and do not require any further inspection by the Firewall or other blades.
• Medium Path: This is a hybrid path, where packets are processed by both the SecureXL device driver and the Firewall kernel, but skip some inspection steps. This path is used for packets that belong to an established connection that is not marked for acceleration, but do not require full inspection by all the blades.

The other options are not correct because:

• A. Initial Path; Medium Path; Accelerated Path: There is no such thing as Initial Path in SecureXL terminology. The initial packet of a connection is always handled by the Firewall Path.
• B. Layer Path; Blade Path; Rule Path: These are not paths of traffic flow, but components of the unified policy in R80 and above versions. The Layer Path refers to the order of layers in the policy, the Blade Path refers to the order of blades within a layer, and the Rule Path refers to the order of rules within a blade3.
• C. Firewall Path; Accept Path; Drop Path: These are not paths of traffic flow, but possible actions that the Firewall can take on a packet. The Firewall Path is one of the paths of traffic flow, but the Accept Path and Drop Path are not. The Accept Path means that the packet is allowed to pass through the Firewall, and the Drop Path means that the packet is blocked by the Firewall4.

References: Part 3 - SecureXL, What is CoreXL & SecureXL, SecureXL Fast Accelerator (fw fast_accel) for R80.20 and above, QUANTUM 7000 SECURITY GATEWAY

The FWD daemon uses TCP port 256 to do a Full Synchronization between gateway cluster members. This port is also used for other synchronization types, such as Delta Synchronization and Accelerated Synchronization. The FWD daemon is responsible for synchronizing the connections table, NAT table, and VPN keys between cluster members. References: ClusterXL Administration Guide, SK25977 - Ports Used by Check Point Software

The API command to create a new host with the name "New Host" and IP address "192.168.0.10" is:

This command adds a host object with the specified name and IP address to the Check Point configuration.

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to API commands.

Automation and Orchestration differ in that automation relates to codifying tasks, whereas orchestration relates to codifying processes. Automation is the process of converting manual tasks into executable scripts or programs that can be run by machines or software agents. Orchestration is the process of coordinating multiple automated tasks into a coherent workflow that achieves a desired outcome or goal. Orchestration can also involve integrating different systems, tools, and services through web service interactions such as XML and JSON. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Automation & Orchestration Administration Guide

The command cphaprob all show stat is not related to redundancy and functions. This command does not exist in ClusterXL or VRRP. The other commands are valid commands for checking the status of cluster members, interfaces, and synchronization. ClusterXL and VRRP are both high availability solutions that provide redundancy and load balancing for Check Point gateways. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, ClusterXL Administration Guide, VRRP Administration Guide

In SmartDashboard, Threat Prevention profiles can be assigned to one or more rules. This means that you can have multiple profiles assigned to a single gateway, and each of these profiles can be associated with one or more rules. This allows for granular control over threat prevention settings for different rules or scenarios.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

Firewall Management (fwm) is available on any management product, including Multi-Domain and on products that requite direct GUI access, such as SmartEvent, It provides the following:

– GUI Client communication

– Database manipulation

– Policy Compilation

– Management HA sync

In R81, the Mobile Access policy is created and modified in SmartConsole. SmartConsole is the management interface for configuring and managing various security policies, including Mobile Access policies.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert R81 documentation and learning resources.

At least 20GB is the recommended size of the root partition when installing a dedicated R81 SmartEvent server. The root partition is the primary partition that contains the operating system files and other essential files for booting and running the system. The SmartEvent server requires at least 20GB of free space on the root partition to install and operate properly. If the root partition size is less than 20GB, you may encounter errors or performance issues with SmartEvent. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, SmartEvent Administration Guide

The Correlation Unit in SmartEvent architecture has the function of analyzing each log entry as it arrives at the log server according to the Event Policy. When it identifies a threat pattern, it forwards an event to the SmartEvent Server. This is an essential function in threat detection and analysis, as it helps in identifying and alerting about security threats based on the configured policies.

Option A correctly describes the function of the Correlation Unit, making it the verified answer.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

 The cpinfo command is a tool that collects diagnostic data from a Check Point gateway or management server. The data includes configuration files, logs, status reports, and more. The cpinfo output can be used for troubleshooting or sent to Check Point support for analysis. The -x parameter is used to get information about the specified Virtual System on a VSX gateway. A Virtual System is a virtualized firewall instance that runs on a VSX gateway and has its own security policy and objects. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, cpinfo Utility, VSX Administration Guide

In the context of Check Point remote access clients and Office Mode, the correct answer is:

A. SecuRemote: SecuRemote is a Check Point remote access client that does not provide an Office-Mode Address. Office Mode is a feature that assigns a unique IP address from a designated IP pool to remote users when they connect to the corporate network. SecuRemote does not support this feature.

B. Endpoint Security Suite, C. Endpoint Security VPN, and D. Check Point Mobile are remote access clients that support Office Mode and can provide an Office-Mode Address to remote users.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer as it correctly identifies a remote access client that does not provide an Office-Mode Address.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 documentation and learning resources.

Threat Extraction is a software blade that delivers PDF versions of original files with active content removed. Active content, such as macros, scripts, or embedded objects, can be used by attackers to deliver malware or exploit vulnerabilities. Threat Extraction removes or sanitizes the active content from the files and converts them to PDF format, which is safer and more compatible. Threat Extraction can also work together with Threat Emulation to provide both clean and original files to the users. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, Threat Extraction Administration Guide

CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that enables the processing CPU cores to concurrently perform multiple tasks on Security Gateways with multiple CPU cores. CoreXL replicates the Firewall kernel multiple times, creating multiple Firewall instances that run on different CPU cores. These Firewall instances handle traffic concurrently, and each Firewall instance is a complete and independent Firewall inspection kernel. To show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances, you can use the command fw ctl multik stat on the Security Gateway. This command will display information such as the number of connections, packets, bytes, drops, and errors handled by each CoreXL FW instance, as well as the CPU utilization and affinity of each instance. The other options are not correct because:

• B. fw ctl affinity -l: This command will show the CPU affinity of all processes and IRQs on the Security Gateway. It will not show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances.
• C. fw ctl instances -v: This command will show the details of all CoreXL FW instances on the Security Gateway, such as their ID, type, state, priority, and interfaces. It will not show the current connections distributed by CoreXL FW instances.
• D. fw ctl iflist: This command will show the list of all interfaces on the Security Gateway, along with their names

References: Part 3 - SecureXL, What is CoreXL & SecureXL, SecureXL Fast Accelerator (fw fast_accel) for R80.20 and above

Check Point SandBlast Zero-Day Protection offers flexibility in implementation to meet individual business needs. One of the deployment options for Check Point SandBlast Zero-Day Protection is:

Smart Cloud Services (Option A): Smart Cloud Services allow organizations to leverage cloud-based threat intelligence and protection services provided by Check Point.

The other options, Load Sharing Mode Services (Option B), Threat Agent Solution (Option C), and Public Cloud Services (Option D), may also be components of a security strategy, but they are not specific deployment options for Check Point SandBlast Zero-Day Protection.

References: Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81 training materials and documentation.

The command cpinfo -y all can be used to have cpinfo display all installed hotfixes. Cpinfo is a tool that collects diagnostic data from a Check Point gateway or management server. The data includes configuration files, logs, status reports, and more. The -y parameter is used to specify which sections of data to include in the cpinfo output. The value all means to include all sections, including the hotfixes section, which shows the list of hotfixes installed on the system. References: Check Point Security Expert R81 Course, cpinfo Utility

VPN Link Selection is a feature that allows the Security Gateway to select the best link for each VPN tunnel based on the network topology and the Link Selection configuration1. When the primary VPN link goes down, the Firewall can update the Link Selection entries to start using a different link for the same tunnel, as long as the remote peer supports this feature and has multiple IP addresses configured2. This way, the VPN tunnel can be maintained without interruption or renegotiation. The other options are not correct because:

Firewall

• A. The Firewall will not drop the packets, but will try to send them over another link if possible.

Firewall

• C. The Firewall will not send out the packet on all interfaces, but will use the routing table to determine the best interface for each destination.

Firewall

• D. The Firewall will not inform the client that the tunnel is down, but will try to keep the tunnel up by switching to another link.

References: IPSec VPN - Link Selection, Outgoing VPN Link Selection on a gateway with multiple external interfaces

To determine the cause of a cluster gateway showing "Down" despite running "clusterXL_admin up" on the down member, you can run the following command:

This command will provide a list of cluster members along with their statuses and can help diagnose the issue with the down member.

References: Check Point documentation or training materials related to High Availability and ClusterXL.

The command cpinfo –y all displays information about all the hotfixes that are installed on the gateway1. This command also shows the hotfix ID, description, installation date, and status for each hotfix2. The other commands are not valid options for this task. The command cpinfo –h all shows the hardware information of the gateway3. The commands cpinfo –o hotfix and cpinfo –l hotfix do not exist and will return an error message.

References: Hotfix installer - Configuration Manager, How to keep your Security Gateways up to date, Solved: Does it always need to have the higher hotfix vers…

https://resources.checkpoint.com/datasheet/certified-security-expert-ccse-r8120-course-overview

Dynamic log distribution is a feature that allows you to configure the Security Gateway to distribute logs between multiple active Log Servers to support a better rate of Logs and Log Servers redundancy. This means that each log is sent to only one Log Server and the load is balanced between the primary Log Servers. If all the primary Log Servers are disconnected, the logs are distributed between the backup Log Servers. If no Log Servers are connected, the gateway writes the logs locally. This feature improves the performance and reliability of logging and reduces the network traffic and disk space consumption. You can enable this feature on the SmartConsole -> Gateways & Servers -> Logs -> Dynamic Log Distribution1.

The other options are incorrect because they do not describe the dynamic log distribution feature. Option B is wrong because the Management High Availability does not store the logs dynamically on the member with the most available disk space, but rather synchronizes the logs between the members using the cpd process2. Option C is wrong because the dynamic log distribution feature does not synchronize the logs between the primary and secondary management server, but rather distributes the logs between the Log Servers. Option D is wrong because the dynamic log distribution feature does not save disk space in case of a firewall cluster, but rather distributes the logs between the Log Servers. The firewall cluster members do not store local logs, but rather send them to the Log Servers3.

 To verify the CPUSE agent build, you can use either of these methods:

• In WebUI Status and Actions page
• By running the following command in CLISH: show installer status build The CPUSE agent build indicates the version of the CPUSE agent that is installed on the machine. The CPUSE agent is responsible for downloading, verifying, installing, and removing packages on Gaia OS. It is recommended to keep the CPUSE agent up-to-date to ensure a smooth installation and upgrade process. References: [CPUSE Agent]

 SecureXL uses templates to accelerate the connection rate by creating a connection entry in the SecureXL Connections Table without notifying the Firewall kernel for a predefined period of time1. This reduces the load on the Firewall kernel and improves the performance of new connections1. SecureXL uses five attributes to identify a connection and create a template: source address, destination address, source port, destination port, and protocol2. These attributes form a unique 5-tuple that defines a connection2.

References: : ATRG: SecureXL for R80.20 and higher : Performance Tuning Administration Guide R80

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation: The “MAC magic” value, also known as the “Cluster Global ID”, is a mechanism that identifies different clusters on the same network segment. It is used to prevent MAC address conflicts and ensure proper load balancing among cluster members. The “MAC magic” value is a hexadecimal number that is appended to the virtual MAC address of the cluster interface. By default, the “MAC magic” value is set to 1 for all clusters, but it must be changed manually if there is more than one cluster connected to the same VLAN. Otherwise, the clusters will not be able to communicate with each other or with external hosts.

The “MAC magic” value does not need to be modified under the other conditions listed in the question. The firewall cluster can use either Broadcast or Multicast for CCP traffic without affecting the “MAC magic” value. The number of members in a firewall cluster also does not affect the “MAC magic” value, as long as they belong to the same cluster and have the same Cluster Global ID.

References: Verifying Magic Mac - R81.20 - Check Point CheckMates; What is Magic MAC? - Check Point CheckMates; Check Point R81 CLI Reference Guide, page 17; R81 ClusterXL Administration Guide, page 9-10

 The correct address to access the Web UI for Gaia platform via browser is https:// . This will open the Gaia Portal login page, where you can enter your username and password to access the Gaia configuration options. By default, the Web UI listens on port 443 for HTTPS connections, but you can change it using the CLISH command set web ssl-port . 

 The best sync method in the ClusterXL deployment is to use one dedicated sync interface. This means that one interface on each cluster member is used exclusively for synchronization traffic, which improves performance and security. Using multiple clusters or sync interfaces is not recommended, as it can cause network congestion or synchronization issues. References: : Check Point Resource Library, Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview, page 8.

 The attribute that is not used for identifying a connection by packet acceleration (SecureXL) is TCP Acknowledgment Number. SecureXL identifies connections by using a hash function that takes into account the following attributes: source address, destination address, source port, destination port, protocol, and VPN ID. The TCP Acknowledgment Number is not part of the hash function and does not affect the connection identification. References: [SecureXL Mechanism]

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