Practice Free 300-710 Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower (300-710 SNCF) Exam Questions Answers With Explanation

To collect 24 hours ' worth of data using a packet capture on a Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) appliance without prematurely stopping due to buffer size limitations, the engineer should increase the packet capture buffer size. The default buffer size is 32 MB, which is insufficient for extended captures.

Steps:

Access the packet capture configuration on the FTD device.

Increase the buffer size to 1 GB, which provides a significantly larger capacity for capturing packets over a 24-hour period.

Setting the buffer size to 1 GB should accommodate a substantial amount of traffic and prevent the capture from stopping prematurely.

Reason: the command " capture-traffic " is used for SNORT Engine Captures. To capture a LINA Engine Capture, you use the " capture " command. Since the Lina Engine represents the actual physical interface of the device, " capture " is the only reasonable choice Reference:https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/security/firepower-ngfw/212474-working-with-firepower-threat-defense-f.html#anc10

The command is

firepower# capture DMZ interface dmz trace detail match ip host 192.168.76.14 host 192.168.76.100

firepower# capture INSIDE interface inside trace detail match ip host 192.168.76.14 host 192.168.75.14

In Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), when two users attempt to modify a VPN policy simultaneously, the system implements a locking mechanism to prevent conflicts. The first user who selects edit on the policy locks the configuration, preventing other users from making changes until the lock is released.

Steps:

When the first user selects edit on the VPN policy, FMC locks the policy for editing.

The lock ensures that only the first user can make changes.

Once the first user saves or cancels their changes, the lock is released.

Other users can then edit the policy.

This locking mechanism ensures that configuration conflicts are avoided and only one set of changes is applied at a time.

A file policy defines the actions that the Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) device should take when it encounters different types of files. The file policy is applied as part of an access control policy. If an access control policy does not include a file policy, the FTD device will not take any action on the files it encounters, resulting in a disposition of " unknown " for all file types except exe.

Step 1(Configure the primary unit for high availability),

Step 2(Configure the secondary unit for high availability),

Step 3(Configure the two units for high availability),

Step 4(Configure failover criteria for health monitoring)

When an FTD device that is managed by FDM is registered to FMC, the existing configuration is automatically converted and imported into FMC. The FMC then pushes the configuration back to the device. This process preserves most of the FDM configuration, except for some features that are not supported by FMC, such as VPN wizards and certificates.

If a task to generate troubleshooting files in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) is completed successfully but removed before the files are downloaded, the following steps can be taken to determine the filename and obtain the generated troubleshooting files without regenerating them:

Go to expert mode on Secure FMC:

Access expert mode on the FMC via SSH or the console.

List the contents of the directory/var/commonto locate the generated troubleshooting files. Use the commandls /var/common.

Use the System Monitoring Audit logs:

In FMC, navigate toSystem > Monitoring > Audit.

Find the line containing the " Generate Troubleshooting Files " string to determine the correct filename.

These actions help identify and retrieve the generated troubleshooting files without the need to regenerate them, saving time and resources.

To ensure that VoIP traffic in a contact center is not impacted by performance issues after deploying an access control policy on a Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) device, the engineer should configure the access control rule with the " trust " action. The " trust " action allows traffic to bypass inspection and policy enforcement, ensuring that critical VoIP traffic is not delayed or degraded.

Steps:

In FMC, navigate toPolicies > Access Control > Access Control Policy.

Create a new rule or edit an existing rule.

Set the source and destination for the VoIP traffic.

Set the action to " trust " to ensure the VoIP traffic is not inspected.

By configuring the rule with the " trust " action, the VoIP traffic will be prioritized, maintaining the quality and performance required for the contact center operations.

4, 1, 2, 3

Intrusion events provide the detection evidence needed to understand which signatures fired, the affected source and destination addresses, event severity, protocol information, and other indicators associated with the suspected compromise. Host connections provide the corresponding network context, allowing the analyst to determine which systems communicated, when the sessions occurred, and which ports, applications, or protocols were involved. Together, these details connect security detections with the traffic flows that produced them and support reconstruction of the incident. Client applications by user and user connections are useful when the investigation is primarily identity-focused, but they do not provide the same direct combination of exploit evidence and host-level network activity. The number of attacked machines is an aggregate measurement and lacks the granular information necessary to investigate the suspicious communications and determine their cause.

When configuring a custom widget on a dashboard within Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), it is mandatory to provide a title for the system to display the information correctly. The title helps in identifying and organizing the widget on the dashboard.

Steps:

Navigate to the dashboard section in FMC.

Add a new custom widget.

Configure the widget settings and provide a title.

Save and apply the widget to the dashboard.

Providing a title ensures that the widget is correctly displayed and easily identifiable on the dashboard.

The capture shows that the client repeatedly transmits a TCP SYN but does not receive the SYN-ACK required to advance the connection state. This indicates that the return portion of the TCP three-way handshake is not reaching the expected ingress interface or is not being processed there. The outside interface must therefore be configured or connected so that the returning SYN-ACK packets arrive through the interface where the firewall expects them. An access rule does not instruct an interface to generate TCP acknowledgement messages; ACK and SYN-ACK packets are produced by the communicating endpoints. Likewise, permitting communication “with the DMZ” does not address the missing return-handshake packet shown in the capture. Correcting the return path through the outside interface allows the firewall to observe both directions, establish state, and forward the subsequent packets.

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To ensure high availability of internet access when deploying a pair of Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) devices managed by Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), the following features must be deployed:

Route Tracking:This feature monitors the reachability of a specified target (such as an external IP address) through the configured routes. If the route to the target is lost, the FTD can dynamically adjust the routing to use an alternate path, ensuring continuous internet access.

SLA Monitor:Service Level Agreement (SLA) monitoring works alongside route tracking to continuously verify the status and performance of the internet links. If the SLA for one of the ISP links fails (indicating the link is down or underperforming), the FTD can switch traffic to the secondary ISP link.

Steps to configure:

In FMC, navigate toDevices > Device Management.

Select the FTD device and configure route tracking to monitor the ISP links.

Configure SLA monitors to continuously check the health and performance of the internet circuits.

These configurations ensure that internet access remains available to users even if one of the ISPs goes down.

When packet capture is used on a Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) device and the packet flow is waiting on the malware query, the Snort verdict appears as " retry. " This indicates that the device is still processing the malware analysis and has not yet determined the final action for the packet.

The " retry " verdict signifies that the packet is in a holding state while awaiting the result of the malware inspection, which helps in maintaining the security posture until a definitive decision is made.

Cisco Threat Response (CTR) is a security solution that helps simplify incident investigation and threat hunting. One of its components that significantly simplifies the investigation process is the browser plug-in. The browser plug-in integrates with CTR to provide contextual information directly within the browser, allowing security analysts to quickly view threat details, pivot to related information, and take appropriate actions without switching between multiple tools.

Features of the browser plug-in:

Provides real-time threat intelligence and context from various Cisco security products.

Allows security analysts to investigate incidents directly from web-based consoles.

Enhances efficiency by streamlining the workflow and reducing the time needed to gather and correlate information.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/640/configuration/guide/fpmc-config-guide-v64/transparent_or_routed_firewall_mode_for_firepower_threat_defense.html

A low-impact attack indicates that the host is not vulnerable to those attacks. A low-impact attack is an attack that does not exploit any known vulnerability on the target host or does not match any signature or anomaly rule on the FTD device5. A low-impact attack does not mean that the attack is not dangerous to the network or that the host is not within the administrator’s environment. It simply means that the attack did not succeed in compromising or affecting the host.

The other options are incorrect because:

All attacks are not listed as low until manually categorized. The FTD device automatically assigns an impact level to each attack based on various factors, such as vulnerability information, threat score, and confidence rating5. The impact level can be high, medium, or low, depending on how likely and how severe the attack is.

The attacks are not necessarily harmless to the network. A low-impact attack may still cause some damage or disruption to the network, such as consuming bandwidth, generating noise, or distracting attention from other attacks6. A low-impact attack may also indicate that the attacker is probing or scanning the network for potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses7.

The host is not necessarily outside the administrator’s environment. A low-impact attack can target any host on the network, regardless of its location or ownership. A low-impact attack does not imply that the host is external or irrelevant to the administrator’s environment.

To streamline the process of reviewing events and modifying blocking of specific files across both the firewall console and the endpoint console, the security engineer should initiate the integration between Secure FMC and Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly AMP for Endpoints) from the Secure FMC using the AMP tab.

Steps:

In the FMC, navigate toDevices > Device Management.

Select the device and go to theAMPtab.

Initiate the integration by configuring the necessary API credentials and linking the FMC to the Cisco Secure Endpoint console.

This integration allows the security engineer to view endpoint events and apply blocking actions directly from the FMC, consolidating the management tasks.

This approach simplifies the workflow by providing a single interface to manage both network and endpoint security, reducing the time and effort required to maintain security across the organization.

Secure Firewall Management Center evaluates access control entries sequentially from the lowest sequence number to the highest and stops processing after the first match. Because host 10.236.131.1 is contained within network 10.236.131.0/24, the specific host exception must appear before the broader subnet block. Sequence 1 must therefore allow 10.236.131.1, and sequence 2 must block 10.236.131.0/24. If the subnet block were placed first, traffic to 10.236.131.1 would match that entry and never reach the subsequent host allow entry. Cisco recommends placing more specific entries above general entries for exactly this reason. In an access list object, Allow identifies traffic to which the associated service applies, while Block excludes it from that service; it does not necessarily mean the firewall drops the packet. Cisco access-list object documentation

To configure URL filtering for a Cisco FTD device in Cisco FMC, and to meet the requirements of the question, the engineer must do the following:

On the HTTP Responses tab of the access control policy editor, set the Interactive Block Response Page to system-provided. This will enable the system to display a warning page to the users when they try to access a blocked URL, and give them the option to continue or cancel. The system-provided page is a default page that contains a generic message and a logo1.

Configure an access control rule that matches an URL object for http://www.badadultsite.com; and set the action to Interactive Block. This will apply the interactive block action to the specific URL that is defined in the URL object. The interactive block action will trigger the interactive block response page that was configured in the previous step1.

The other options are incorrect because:

On the HTTP Responses tab of the access control policy editor, setting the Block Response Page to Custom will not affect the interactive block action. The block response page is used when the action is set to Block, not Interactive Block1.

Configuring the default action for the access control policy to Interactive Block will apply the interactive block action to all URLs that are not matched by any access control rule. This will not meet the requirement of blocking no other websites1.

Configuring an access control rule that matches the Adult URL category and sets the action to Interactive Block will apply the interactive block action to all URLs that belong to the Adult category. This will not meet the requirement of blocking only http://www.badadultsite.com1.

In the integration between Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco Firewall Management Center (FMC), realms are used to define the Active Directory (AD) configuration. Realms in FMC specify the AD servers, domain, and other authentication settings necessary to authenticate and authorize users.

Steps to configure realms:

In FMC, navigate toSystem > Integration > Realms and Directory.

Add a new realm and configure the AD settings.

Ensure the realm settings match the AD environment for seamless integration.

Realms are essential for integrating AD with FMC, allowing the firewall to use AD for user authentication and policy enforcement.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/620/configuration/guide/fpmc-config-guide-v62/reusable_objects.html#ID-2243-000009b4

" All interfaces in an interface object must be of the same type: all inline, passive, switched, routed, or ASA FirePOWER. After you create an interface object, you cannot change the type of interfaces it contains. "

In a passive IPS deployment for a Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) device, the administrator must configure the interface to operate in passive mode. This involves setting the interface mode, associating it with a security zone, enabling the interface, and setting the MTU parameter.

Steps:

Set the interface mode to passive:

In FMC, navigate toDevices > Device Management.

Select the FTD device and configure the relevant interface.

Set the interface mode to " Passive. "

Associate the interface with a security zone:

Create or select an appropriate security zone.

Assign the passive interface to this security zone.

Enable the interface:

Ensure the interface is enabled to receive traffic.

Set the MTU parameter:

Configure the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) parameter as required.

This ensures that the FTD device can inspect traffic passively without impacting the network flow.

A custom application detector is a user-defined script that can detect web applications, clients, and application protocols based on patterns in network traffic. Custom application detectors are written in LUA, which is a lightweight and embeddable scripting language. LUA scripts can use predefined functions and variables provided by the Firepower System to access packet data and metadata, and to specify the detection criteria and the application information1.

To import a custom application detector file that was provided by a third party, you need to follow these steps1:

In the FMC web interface, navigate to Objects > Object Management > Application Detectors.

Click Import.

Browse to the location of the LUA script file and select it.

Click Upload.

Review the detector details and click Save.

The other options are incorrect because:

Perl script is not a supported format for custom application detectors. Perl is a general-purpose programming language that is not embedded in the Firepower System.

NBAR protocol is not a file type, but a feature of Cisco IOS routers that can classify and monitor network traffic based on application types. NBAR protocols are predefined and cannot be imported as custom application detectors.

Python program is not a supported format for custom application detectors. Python is a general-purpose programming language that is not embedded in the Firepower System.

In inline IPS mode, to ensure that traffic passes through uninterrupted when VDB (Vulnerability Database) updates are being applied, the " Short Fall Open " setting must be configured. This setting allows traffic to continue to flow through the firewall even if there are issues with the inspection process, such as during updates or if the inspection engine fails.

Steps:

In FMC, navigate to the inline set configuration.

Enable the " Short Fall Open " option.

Deploy the configuration to the FTD device.

This ensures that network traffic is not disrupted during updates or other issues with the inspection process.

Threat Intelligence Director cannot apply Block directly to a TAXII source because STIX data obtained through TAXII can contain complex indicators. A managed device takes enforcement action based on individual observables, such as an IP address, URL, domain, or file hash. After the TAXII content has been ingested, an administrator can configure Block on an individual observable or on a simple indicator containing one actionable observable. Complex indicators combine multiple observables and therefore cannot be blocked directly; the administrator must instead block the appropriate individual observables within them. An element is the managed device that receives published intelligence, not an intelligence object on which this action is configured. Consequently, the two supported object types are an observable and a simple indicator. Cisco Threat Intelligence Director documentation

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In a failover configuration with Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) devices, ensuring that users on the internal network can continue to communicate with outside devices if the primary device (FTD1) fails requires the implementation of a stateful failover link. The stateful failover link allows the secondary device (FTD2) to maintain session information and state data, ensuring seamless failover and minimizing disruptions.

Steps to implement a stateful failover link:

Physically connect a stateful failover link between FTD1 and FTD2.

Configure the stateful failover link in the FMC.

Ensure that both devices are properly synchronized and that stateful failover is enabled.

Deploy the changes to both FTD devices.

By configuring a stateful link, the secondary FTD can take over active sessions without requiring users to re-establish their connections, thus ensuring continuous communication.

Cisco ISE Adaptive Network Control is the remediation module used for Rapid Threat Containment. Secure Firewall Management Center detects malicious activity or a correlation-policy violation and invokes an ANC remediation through the pxGrid integration. Cisco ISE then applies the specified ANC policy to the affected endpoint and can issue a RADIUS Change of Authorization to the relevant network-access device. The resulting action can quarantine the endpoint, restrict its authorization, or clear a previously applied ANC policy. Cisco ISE provides the policy and enforcement infrastructure, but the specific remediation module presented in Secure Firewall Management Center is Cisco ISE Adaptive Network Control. Cisco Secure Endpoint supplies endpoint detection and response telemetry but is not the RTC remediation module described. Network Protection Services is not the applicable Secure Firewall remediation component. Cisco Secure Firewall remediation modules

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To filter traffic between multiple subnets, the engineer must implement the firewall in routed mode. In routed mode, the firewall operates as a Layer 3 device, capable of routing traffic between different IP subnets. This mode is appropriate for filtering traffic between LAN, DMZ, and WAN subnets.

Steps to configure routed mode:

Access the firewall ' s management interface.

Configure interfaces for each subnet (LAN, DMZ, WAN) with appropriate IP addresses and network masks.

Define security zones and apply access control policies to filter traffic as required.

This ensures that the firewall can inspect and route traffic between the different subnets, providing the necessary security and control.

The capture should be taken on the DMZ interface of the perimeter firewall because this is the firewall interface closest to the affected server. Capturing there shows the packets delivered to the server and the TCP RST packets returned by it. This placement helps determine whether the reset originates from the server, whether address translation changed the connection, or whether the firewall generated or altered the traffic. Capturing only on the internet-facing interface would show the external behavior but provide less certainty about what reached or left the DMZ server. The perimeter router and ISP router are even farther from the suspected source. Cisco troubleshooting guidance recommends capturing as close as possible to the relevant endpoint and on the associated firewall data interface. List B’s supplied answer C is therefore incorrect and has been corrected to D. Cisco firewall capture analysis

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A screenshot of a computer AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Cisco warns that displaying captured packets directly on the screen can degrade system and network performance. The -w test option writes raw packets to a file instead of continuously parsing and displaying them on the terminal. The -s 1518 option sets the snapshot length to the default Ethernet maximum frame size so complete packets are captured, while -c 1000 automatically stops the capture after 1,000 packets. The BPF expression host 10.10.10.10 further reduces resource consumption by capturing only traffic involving the specified host. Options A, B, and C limit the captured traffic to varying degrees, but they omit -w and therefore continue sending decoded packet output to the screen. Consequently, Option D is the complete performance-conscious capture command. Cisco packet-capture procedure

To block traffic to known cryptomining networks using Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) managed by Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), the network administrator needs to configure Security Intelligence in an Access Control Policy. Security Intelligence allows administrators to block traffic based on threat intelligence feeds, which include known malicious IP addresses, domains, and URLs.

Steps:

Navigate toPolicies > Access Control > Access Control Policyin FMC.

Edit or create an Access Control Policy.

Go to theSecurity Intelligencetab.

Enable the relevant threat intelligence feeds that include cryptomining networks.

Apply the policy to the FTD device.

This configuration ensures that traffic to known cryptomining networks is blocked, enhancing the network ' s security posture against cryptomining threats.

To deploy a Cisco FTD device that meets the requirements of the question, the engineer must use transparent mode with a management interface. Transparent mode is a firewall configuration in which the FTD device acts as a “bump in the wire” or a “stealth firewall” and is not seen as a router hop to connected devices. In transparent mode, the FTD device can examine traffic without requiring network changes that will disrupt end users, such as changing IP addresses or routingconfigurations1. A management interface is a dedicated interface that is used for managing the FTD device and separating management traffic from data traffic. A management interface can be configured to allow SSH access for remote administration, which is more secure than Telnet2.

The other options are incorrect because:

Routed mode is a firewall configuration in which the FTD device acts as a router and performs address translation and routing for connected networks. Routed mode requires network changes that may disrupt end users, such as changing IP addresses or routing configurations1. A diagnostic interface is a special interface that is used for troubleshooting and capturing traffic on the FTD device. A diagnostic interface does not separate management traffic from data traffic or allow SSH access for remote administration.

Transparent mode with a data interface does not meet the requirement of separating management traffic from data traffic. A data interface is a regular interface that is used for passing and inspecting traffic on the FTD device. A data interface does not allow SSH access for remote administration2.

Routed mode with a bridge virtual interface (BVI) does not meet the requirement of examining traffic without requiring network changes that will disrupt end users. A BVI is a logical interface that acts as a container for one or more physical or logical interfaces that belong to the same layer 2 broadcast domain. A BVI allows the FTD device to route between different bridge groups on the same security module/engine. However, routed mode still requires network changes that may disrupt end users, such as changing IP addresses or routing configurations.

If inside clients have intermittent connectivity issues and the Cisco Secure FTD is responding to all ARP requests on the inside network, it indicates that there may be an incorrect proxy ARP configuration in the NAT policy. Proxy ARP can cause the FTD to respond to ARP requests on behalf of other devices, leading to connectivity issues.

Steps to resolve:

Review the NAT policy on the FTD to identify any incorrect proxy ARP configurations.

Disable the proxy ARP setting for the relevant NAT rules that are causing the issue.

This ensures that the FTD only responds to ARP requests as needed, preventing it from interfering with normal ARP traffic on the inside network.