Visit here for our full Cisco 350-701 exam dumps and practice test questions.
Question 41:
Which Cisco technology provides network-wide visibility into traffic patterns by collecting and analyzing flow data from network devices?
A NetFlow
B SNMP
C Syslog
D SPAN
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco NetFlow is a powerful network telemetry technology that enables comprehensive network-wide visibility by systematically collecting metadata about IP traffic flows traversing network infrastructure, providing security and operations teams with detailed insights into communication patterns, application usage, bandwidth consumption, and potential security threats. Each flow record captures essential connection characteristics including source and destination IP addresses, source and destination port numbers, Layer 4 protocol identifiers (TCP, UDP, ICMP), packet counts, byte volumes, flow timestamps indicating start and end times, Type of Service (ToS) markings, input and output interface identifiers, and next-hop routing information, creating rich datasets that describe network conversations without requiring full packet capture or deep packet inspection.
NetFlow operates natively on Cisco routers and switches through optimized hardware implementations that efficiently monitor traffic at line rates, aggregating packets sharing common characteristics into flow records that are periodically exported to centralized collectors for storage, correlation, and analysis, enabling scalable monitoring across enterprise networks without overwhelming collection infrastructure with raw packet data. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) serves distinctly different purposes focused on monitoring device health metrics, performance statistics, configuration states, and operational status through Management Information Base (MIB) queries, providing visibility into equipment conditions rather than analyzing traffic flows or communication patterns. Syslog functions as a standardized logging protocol that records system messages, administrative events, configuration changes, authentication attempts, and error conditions generated by network devices and applications, but it does not capture traffic metadata or enable analysis of communication patterns, bandwidth utilization, or application behaviors.
Question 42:
Which Cisco Secure Firewall feature allows an administrator to control applications regardless of port or protocol?
A Application Visibility and Control (AVC)
B Intrusion Policy
C Access Control Lists (ACLs)
D SSL Decryption
Answer: A
Explanation:
Application Visibility and Control (AVC) represents a cornerstone capability of Cisco Secure Firewall that enables organizations to identify, monitor, and control applications traversing their networks based on application signatures rather than relying solely on traditional port and protocol information. Unlike conventional security approaches, AVC maintains effectiveness regardless of the port, protocol, or encryption method applications employ, making it particularly valuable in modern network environments where applications frequently utilize dynamic ports, non-standard protocols, or encrypted connections to evade detection. Traditional Access Control Lists (ACLs) depend fundamentally on static port and IP address matching, which proves increasingly ineffective against contemporary applications that deliberately obscure their network behavior or leverage common ports like 80 and 443 alongside legitimate traffic. While Intrusion Prevention Systems and policies excel at detecting malicious signatures and anomalous behavior patterns, they primarily focus on threat detection rather than application classification and visibility. Similarly, SSL Decryption capabilities permit inspection of encrypted traffic flows, but this technology alone does not provide the intelligence necessary to accurately identify and categorize specific applications within that decrypted traffic stream.
AVC leverages sophisticated deep packet inspection techniques combined with Cisco’s industry-leading NBAR2 engine, which maintains an extensive database capable of recognizing thousands of distinct applications through behavioral analysis, statistical modeling, and signature matching. This comprehensive approach enables security administrators to implement granular, application-aware policies that align precisely with business requirements and security postures. Organizations can confidently permit business-critical applications such as Office 365, Salesforce, or WebEx while simultaneously blocking or rate-limiting high-risk applications including peer-to-peer file sharing protocols like BitTorrent, unauthorized remote access tools, or recreational streaming services. Within the SCOR examination framework, AVC exemplifies the application-layer security capabilities that distinguish next-generation firewalls from traditional stateful inspection devices. This functionality proves essential for addressing contemporary security challenges including shadow IT proliferation, bandwidth optimization, compliance mandate adherence, and maintaining comprehensive visibility across increasingly complex application landscapes. By providing contextual awareness of application usage patterns, AVC empowers organizations to make informed security decisions, enforce acceptable use policies effectively, and maintain robust security postures without sacrificing legitimate business functionality or user productivity.
Question 43:
Which VPN protocol provides secure remote access by encapsulating IP traffic over HTTPS?
A SSL VPN
B GRE
C IPsec
D DMVPN
Answer: A
Explanation:
SSL VPN technology establishes secure remote access connections by encapsulating IP traffic within HTTPS sessions operating over TCP port 443, providing organizations with a flexible and widely compatible solution for enabling secure connectivity from diverse network environments. This approach proves particularly advantageous because HTTPS traffic typically traverses corporate firewalls, proxy servers, and Network Address Translation devices without requiring special configurations or firewall exceptions, allowing users to establish secure connections from hotels, coffee shops, airports, or any location with internet connectivity. Unlike alternative tunneling protocols, SSL VPN operates seamlessly across restrictive network environments where other VPN technologies might encounter connectivity challenges. Generic Routing Encapsulation provides basic tunneling capabilities but lacks native encryption mechanisms, leaving traffic vulnerable to interception and eavesdropping. IPsec protocols deliver robust cryptographic protection suitable for site-to-site connectivity scenarios but frequently demand client-side configuration complexity, administrative overhead, and specific UDP port availability that may prove problematic in restrictive network environments. Dynamic Multipoint VPN technology excels at creating scalable, dynamic IPsec tunnels between multiple enterprise sites but primarily targets site-to-site connectivity rather than individual user remote access requirements.
SSL VPN forms the foundational technology underlying Cisco’s AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, which delivers comprehensive secure remote access capabilities while maintaining ease of deployment and exceptional user experience. AnyConnect establishes encrypted tunnels that protect all application traffic between remote endpoints and corporate resources, ensuring confidentiality and integrity throughout the communication session. Beyond basic connectivity, SSL VPN implementations integrate seamlessly with Cisco Identity Services Engine to enforce sophisticated endpoint posture assessment policies, enabling organizations to implement zero-trust security principles through conditional access controls. These integrations verify device compliance status, security patch levels, antivirus definitions, and corporate policy adherence before granting network access, significantly reducing organizational risk exposure. Within the SCOR certification context, SSL VPN exemplifies Cisco’s comprehensive remote access security architecture, demonstrating how multiple security technologies including secure tunneling protocols, strong encryption algorithms, multifactor authentication mechanisms, and endpoint compliance verification converge to deliver confidential, authenticated, and authorized communication channels. This integrated approach proves essential for supporting modern distributed workforces, enabling secure productivity for mobile employees, remote contractors, and telecommuters while maintaining robust security postures and protecting sensitive corporate assets from unauthorized access and data exfiltration threats.
Question 44:
Which Cisco technology helps identify malware communications in encrypted traffic using statistical modeling rather than decryption?
A Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA)
B SSL Decryption
C AMP for Endpoints
D IPsec
Answer: A
Explanation:
Encrypted Traffic Analytics represents an innovative security capability that enables organizations to identify malicious communications, policy violations, and anomalous behavior within encrypted network traffic streams without requiring decryption of the actual packet payloads. This groundbreaking approach addresses a critical challenge facing modern security operations, as encryption adoption continues accelerating across enterprise networks while simultaneously creating blind spots for traditional security monitoring tools. ETA employs sophisticated analysis of network telemetry including TLS handshake characteristics, cipher suite selections, certificate attributes, packet size distributions, inter-arrival timing patterns, and comprehensive flow metadata to detect indicators of compromise and suspicious activities. By analyzing these observable traffic characteristics rather than inspecting payload contents, ETA maintains privacy compliance while delivering effective threat detection capabilities. Full SSL decryption approaches, while thorough, introduce significant privacy concerns, regulatory compliance risks, performance penalties, and potential legal liabilities, particularly when handling sensitive data subject to healthcare regulations, financial industry standards, or European privacy directives. Endpoint-focused solutions like Advanced Malware Protection excel at analyzing file execution behavior, memory operations, and system-level activities but operate independently of network traffic analysis and cannot detect command-and-control communications or lateral movement occurring across network infrastructure. IPsec functions purely as an encryption and authentication protocol suite designed to secure IP communications rather than serving as an analytical or monitoring tool.
Encrypted Traffic Analytics integrates seamlessly with Cisco Stealthwatch network detection and response platform alongside NetFlow telemetry collection systems to aggregate comprehensive visibility across enterprise network infrastructure. This integration enables sophisticated machine learning algorithms to establish baseline behavioral patterns, identify statistical anomalies, and generate high-confidence threat detections by correlating multiple telemetry sources and identifying deviations from established norms. ETA provides dual benefits of maintaining robust security visibility while simultaneously ensuring regulatory compliance and respecting user privacy expectations, making it particularly valuable in healthcare environments, financial institutions, government agencies, and educational organizations where decryption may prove legally prohibited, ethically problematic, or technically impractical. Within the SCOR examination framework, Encrypted Traffic Analytics exemplifies Cisco’s commitment to innovation within threat detection and network visibility domains, demonstrating that organizations need not sacrifice security effectiveness to maintain privacy protections or network performance. This technology aligns directly with visibility and enforcement objectives while acknowledging contemporary challenges surrounding encrypted communications, privacy regulations, and the fundamental principle that comprehensive security solutions must balance protection, compliance, and operational efficiency without compromising user privacy rights or degrading network performance through computationally expensive decryption operations.
Question 45:
Which component of Cisco ISE allows the assignment of Security Group Tags (SGTs) for access control policies?
A TrustSec Policy Service Node (PSN)
B Monitoring Node
C Administration Node
D Profiling Service
Answer: A
Explanation:
The Policy Service Node represents the operational enforcement engine within Cisco Identity Services Engine’s distributed architecture, serving as the critical component responsible for real-time policy decision-making, user and device authentication, authorization determinations, and Security Group Tag assignment that enables Cisco TrustSec’s identity-based segmentation capabilities. PSN nodes interact directly with network access devices including switches, wireless controllers, VPN concentrators, and firewalls to evaluate authentication requests, apply comprehensive posture assessment policies, and dynamically assign appropriate Security Group Tags that govern network access privileges and communication permissions. This real-time enforcement capability ensures that access decisions reflect current security posture, user context, device compliance status, and organizational policies at the moment authentication occurs. The Monitoring Node persona fulfills essential but distinct responsibilities focused on aggregating system logs, collecting operational telemetry, generating compliance reports, and providing historical visibility into authentication events and policy enforcement actions, but operates independently from active policy evaluation and enforcement processes. Administration Node responsibilities center on system configuration management, policy authoring, certificate management, software updates, and distributed deployment coordination rather than participating in live authentication transactions or policy enforcement operations. The Profiling Service performs valuable endpoint classification by analyzing network behavior, DHCP requests, HTTP user agents, and device attributes to categorize endpoints into logical groups, yet profiling itself does not determine access authorization or assign security policies without PSN involvement.
Understanding the Policy Service Node’s architectural significance proves essential for SCOR certification candidates because PSN represents the functional core enabling ISE’s sophisticated network access control capabilities across distributed enterprise environments. Through PSN deployment, organizations implement Cisco TrustSec’s revolutionary approach to network segmentation that transcends traditional IP address and VLAN-based access controls by establishing identity-centric security policies tied to user roles, device types, and contextual factors. This identity-based approach enables true micro-segmentation where communication permissions follow users and devices regardless of physical location or network attachment point, dramatically simplifying policy management while enhancing security granularity. Policy Service Nodes integrate seamlessly within Cisco’s comprehensive security ecosystem including Firepower Threat Defense appliances, SecureX threat response platform, and Stealthwatch network detection systems, creating unified security architectures where identity context flows across multiple enforcement points. This integration enables sophisticated Zero Trust security implementations where access privileges adapt dynamically based on continuous verification of user identity, device compliance posture, location context, time-based restrictions, and threat intelligence indicators. By eliminating implicit trust and enforcing least-privilege access principles through continuous authentication and authorization, PSN-driven TrustSec deployments ensure that network access remains appropriate throughout session duration, automatically revoking or modifying permissions when security posture changes, compliance violations occur, or threat indicators emerge, thereby providing adaptive security that responds intelligently to evolving risk conditions.
Question 46:
Which Cisco technology enables endpoint isolation in response to detected malicious activity?
A AMP for Endpoints
B Cisco Umbrella
C Firepower
D ISE Monitoring Node
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco Advanced Malware Protection for Endpoints delivers comprehensive endpoint isolation capabilities that enable security teams to immediately quarantine compromised systems from network communications as part of coordinated incident response workflows, whether triggered automatically through policy-based automation or initiated manually by security analysts investigating suspicious activities. This containment functionality proves critical for preventing malware propagation across enterprise networks through lateral movement techniques while simultaneously blocking infected endpoints from establishing or maintaining communications with external command-and-control infrastructure operated by threat actors. By severing network connectivity at the endpoint level, AMP effectively neutralizes active threats, prevents data exfiltration attempts, and provides security teams with crucial time to conduct forensic investigations, develop remediation strategies, and coordinate response activities without risking further compromise. Cisco Umbrella provides valuable security services by intercepting and blocking malicious DNS queries before connections establish, offering protective DNS-layer filtering that prevents users from accessing phishing sites, malware distribution servers, and command-and-control domains, yet Umbrella operates at the network and DNS resolution layers without direct capability to isolate individual endpoint systems. Firepower Threat Defense appliances deliver sophisticated network traffic inspection, intrusion prevention, application visibility, and URL filtering at network boundaries and internal segmentation points, but these network-centric security functions do not extend to directly quarantining or isolating specific endpoint devices from network access. The ISE Monitoring Node persona concentrates on operational visibility, log aggregation, reporting generation, and historical analysis rather than participating in active enforcement actions or policy-based containment operations.
Advanced Malware Protection’s endpoint isolation capability integrates seamlessly within Cisco’s broader security ecosystem, particularly through SecureX orchestration platform and Identity Services Engine, creating powerful automated response workflows where threat detections trigger coordinated containment actions across multiple enforcement points simultaneously. When AMP identifies compromised endpoints, SecureX orchestration can automatically initiate ISE-based network quarantine measures including dynamic VLAN reassignment to isolated network segments, adaptive access control list application that restricts communication permissions, or complete network access revocation depending on threat severity and organizational policies. This multi-layered integration exemplifies Cisco’s extended detection and response strategy where telemetry, threat intelligence, and enforcement capabilities span endpoints, networks, cloud environments, and applications to deliver unified security operations. For SCOR certification candidates, understanding AMP’s endpoint isolation functionality demonstrates mastery of automated incident response and threat containment concepts that represent crucial components of modern endpoint security architectures and incident handling methodologies. These capabilities directly address organizational objectives of minimizing mean time to detection by leveraging continuous monitoring and behavioral analysis while simultaneously reducing mean time to remediation through automated containment actions that prevent threat propagation, limit blast radius, and enable security teams to focus investigative resources on understanding attack vectors, assessing damage scope, and implementing comprehensive remediation measures rather than manually identifying and isolating affected systems across distributed enterprise environments.
Question 47:
What is the main purpose of Cisco’s Threat Grid integration within the AMP ecosystem?
A Advanced file sandboxing and dynamic malware analysis
B Real-time DNS filtering and policy enforcement
C VPN tunneling and secure access
D Traffic flow analysis for anomaly detection
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco Threat Grid is a cloud-based malware analysis and sandboxing platform that complements Cisco AMP for Endpoints and Firepower. When a suspicious file is detected, it is submitted to Threat Grid for dynamic analysis in a secure, isolated environment. The system observes file behavior, registry changes, network connections, and process execution to determine if the file is malicious. DNS filtering (B) is performed by Cisco Umbrella, not Threat Grid. VPN tunneling (C) is unrelated. Traffic analysis (D) falls under Stealthwatch, not AMP. Threat Grid enhances AMP’s detection accuracy by combining static analysis, dynamic behavior inspection, and global intelligence from Cisco Talos. For SCOR candidates, Threat Grid represents Cisco’s approach to sandboxing and threat intelligence correlation, forming a core part of the malware protection and analysis domain, where understanding behavior-based detection complements traditional signature-based defenses.
Question 48:
Which Cisco solution provides automated policy enforcement by integrating identity, threat, and network telemetry data?
A Cisco SecureX
B Cisco Stealthwatch
C Cisco Umbrella
D Cisco Firepower
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco SecureX unifies Cisco’s security ecosystem by automating policy enforcement using correlated identity, network, and threat telemetry data. Through its orchestration engine, SecureX can trigger automated responses—such as isolating a host in ISE or blocking malicious domains in Umbrella—based on analytics from AMP or Firepower. Stealthwatch (B) provides visibility but not orchestration. Umbrella (C) enforces DNS-layer filtering without cross-platform automation. Firepower (D) enforces traffic policies but does not coordinate multi-domain responses. SecureX integrates all these tools into a single dashboard, leveraging APIs to accelerate detection and response. For SCOR candidates, SecureX embodies Cisco’s security automation and orchestration vision, addressing exam objectives on visibility, correlation, and response. It drastically reduces manual workloads by enabling playbook-driven incident responses, an essential skill for modern SOC operations.
Question 49:
Which protocol does Cisco ISE use to communicate with network devices for authentication and authorization?
A RADIUS
B TACACS+
C SNMP
D LDAP
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco ISE primarily uses the RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) protocol to communicate with network devices such as switches, wireless controllers, and VPN concentrators. RADIUS handles authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) by validating user credentials and applying access policies. TACACS+ (B) is typically used for administrative access control on network devices but not for end-user network access. SNMP (C) monitors devices, not authentication. LDAP (D) can be used for directory lookups but not direct device-to-ISE communication. RADIUS operates over UDP (ports 1812/1813 or 1645/1646) and forms the backbone of Cisco’s 802.1X and posture assessment frameworks. For SCOR candidates, understanding RADIUS interactions—such as attribute-value pairs (AVPs), EAP methods, and CoA (Change of Authorization)—is critical in the secure network access domain, illustrating how ISE enforces identity-based, dynamic network control.
Question 50:
Which Cisco component monitors and correlates logs to identify security incidents across multiple domains?
A Cisco SecureX Threat Response
B Cisco Umbrella
C Cisco AnyConnect
D Cisco AMP
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cisco SecureX Threat Response (formerly CTR) is a cloud-based investigation and correlation tool that aggregates logs and telemetry from Cisco’s entire security portfolio—including Firepower, AMP, ISE, and Umbrella—into a unified view. Umbrella (B) enforces DNS-layer security but does not correlate events. AnyConnect (C) provides VPN connectivity. AMP (D) focuses on endpoint malware detection. SecureX Threat Response enriches alerts with Cisco Talos intelligence, enabling analysts to trace attack chains, identify relationships between indicators of compromise (IOCs), and launch mitigation directly. For the SCOR exam, this capability aligns with the security visibility and analytics domain, highlighting Cisco’s push toward automated, cross-domain threat detection. SecureX Threat Response enhances situational awareness, reduces mean time to investigation (MTTI), and supports the core SOC function of rapid, intelligence-driven decision-making.
Question 51:
Which Cisco technology provides secure access to enterprise networks by using contextual identity-based policies that include device profiling and posture assessment?
A Cisco Umbrella
B Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine)
C Cisco AMP for Endpoints
D Cisco Firepower Management Center
Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is a core component in Cisco’s secure access architecture. It performs authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services to ensure that users and devices connecting to the network comply with defined security policies. Cisco ISE integrates with RADIUS and TACACS+ protocols, enabling network access control across wired, wireless, and VPN connections. It supports posture assessment—evaluating a device’s compliance status (such as antivirus, OS patch level, or security software)—before granting network access. When combined with Cisco AnyConnect and Network Access Control (NAC), it provides continuous posture checking and can dynamically quarantine non-compliant endpoints. A, Cisco Umbrella, is primarily a DNS-layer security and cloud access control solution, not a policy engine for network access. C, Cisco AMP for Endpoints, is focused on malware protection and endpoint detection and response (EDR). D, Firepower Management Center, is used to manage Firepower Threat Defense devices and intrusion policies, not for identity-based network admission. Therefore, the correct answer is B, because Cisco ISE is explicitly designed to implement secure network access based on contextual identity and posture attributes. The solution supports integrations with Active Directory, MDM systems, and pxGrid to exchange threat and context data across Cisco’s security ecosystem. When deploying ISE, organizations typically configure Policy Sets to define conditions such as device type, location, and authentication method. For example, an enterprise may restrict access for unmanaged devices to a guest VLAN while allowing corporate laptops full access. ISE’s ability to enforce differentiated access policies based on user identity, device compliance, and environmental context makes it central to the Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) approach, aligning with Cisco’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. Hence, Cisco ISE stands out as the core engine ensuring that access to resources is dynamically authorized according to real-time posture validation and identity awareness.
Question 52:
Which protocol is primarily used by Cisco Firepower sensors to send intrusion event data to the Firepower Management Center?
A HTTPS
B SNMP
C eStreamer
D NetFlow
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
The eStreamer (Event Streamer) protocol is Cisco’s dedicated mechanism for exporting security events from Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) devices and Firepower Sensors to the Firepower Management Center (FMC) or external collectors. eStreamer uses a TLS-encrypted TCP channel to reliably transport high-volume event data including intrusion detections, connection logs, and file/malware events. This architecture ensures that all events are synchronized and integrity-verified. While A, HTTPS, is used for management sessions between FMC and managed devices, it is not optimized for continuous event streaming. B, SNMP, is limited to monitoring and alert traps and cannot handle detailed intrusion data. D, NetFlow, provides flow-level traffic statistics but lacks contextual security information such as signatures or file hashes. eStreamer supports APIs that allow SIEM platforms like Splunk or QRadar to ingest Cisco Firepower telemetry for correlation and analysis. The eStreamer client uses a certificate-based handshake for mutual authentication, ensuring only authorized collectors can receive events. The 350-701 SCOR exam expects candidates to understand this distinction between management channels and event-streaming channels in Firepower architecture. The reliability of eStreamer also allows analysts to perform deep packet correlation and forensic review. eStreamer is often configured via the FMC GUI under System > Integration > eStreamer, where administrators can enable specific event types and formats. This configuration flexibility allows for granular control, such as sending only connection and intrusion events to external systems while retaining all records locally for policy tuning. Therefore, option C correctly identifies eStreamer as the protocol Firepower uses to deliver rich intrusion and security telemetry to its management and analytics ecosystem.
Question 53:
In Cisco’s Secure Firewall architecture, which engine performs advanced malware analysis using sandboxing and retrospective security features?
A Cisco Talos
B Cisco Secure Malware Analytics (Threat Grid)
C Cisco ISE
D Cisco Umbrella
Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
Cisco Secure Malware Analytics, formerly known as Threat Grid, provides dynamic malware analysis (sandboxing) integrated into Cisco’s broader security portfolio. When Firepower detects a suspicious file, it can automatically submit it to Threat Grid for detonation in a secure virtual environment. The analysis engine observes behaviors such as registry modifications, network connections, and process creation to classify the file as malicious, suspicious, or clean. A key benefit is retrospective security—if a file previously deemed safe is later determined malicious by updated intelligence, the system can retroactively flag endpoints or sessions that interacted with that file. A, Cisco Talos, is the intelligence organization that supplies threat feeds and signature updates but doesn’t perform sandbox execution. C, Cisco ISE, handles identity and access control, not malware analysis. D, Cisco Umbrella, provides DNS-layer and cloud proxy filtering rather than sandboxing. Cisco integrates Secure Malware Analytics with AMP for Endpoints and Secure Email/ Web Gateways, providing uniform analysis capabilities across vectors. Within Firepower, administrators enable File Policies and associate them with an analysis action (local malware lookup, cloud lookup, or Threat Grid submission). The report returned by Threat Grid includes behavioral indicators scored by severity and mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This enables rapid detection of unknown threats and zero-day malware. Cisco’s architecture emphasizes retrospective alerting, where cloud verdict updates automatically trigger correlation in the Firepower Management Center. Therefore, B is correct because Secure Malware Analytics (Threat Grid) is the sandboxing engine responsible for advanced file analysis and continuous threat re-evaluation, crucial topics for SCOR candidates studying Cisco’s integrated threat-defense lifecycle.
Question 54:
Which feature in Cisco Secure Firewall provides policy-based redirection of traffic to external security services, such as an IDS or DLP appliance?
A Security Intelligence Blacklist
B Service Policy Rule
C FlexConfig
D Inline Set (SPAn Redirect)
Correct Answer: D
Explanation:
In Cisco Secure Firewall deployments, Inline Sets, sometimes configured via SPAn Redirects, are used for traffic redirection to external security devices like Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) appliances, or advanced traffic analyzers. The inline set mechanism allows administrators to mirror or divert traffic based on defined Access Control Policies (ACP). The firewall inspects the traffic, applies policy logic, and if a match is found, forwards it to the external service chain. Option A, Security Intelligence Blacklist, blocks connections based on IP or URL reputation but does not redirect them. B, Service Policy Rules, belong to legacy ASA configurations for QoS or inspection class maps. C, FlexConfig, allows administrators to push custom ASA CLI configurations to Firepower Threat Defense but isn’t inherently a redirection feature. Inline sets operate transparently, maintaining Layer 2 forwarding while enabling Layer 7 inspection by the chained device. This is particularly relevant for organizations integrating third-party tools alongside Cisco’s native security stack. In multi-tenant environments, inline sets can isolate inspection paths for compliance zones or specific traffic categories. From a SCOR perspective, understanding how traffic service chaining functions allows candidates to design hybrid inspection architectures that balance performance and depth of analysis. Inline redirection can also integrate with Cisco SecureX Orchestration, enabling dynamic responses where suspicious flows are redirected to deep packet analysis automatically. Therefore, D correctly describes the feature enabling policy-based redirection of packets to external inspection devices within Cisco’s firewall ecosystem.
Question 55:
What is the main purpose of Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise in the Cisco Security architecture?
A Perform email content filtering
B Provide network visibility and behavioral analytics using flow telemetry
C Manage endpoint protection policies
D Act as a cloud access security broker
Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise is Cisco’s Network Detection and Response (NDR) solution that provides network visibility, anomaly detection, and threat analytics using flow data such as NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow. Its primary function is to transform flow telemetry from routers, switches, firewalls, and cloud environments into actionable security insights. Option A is incorrect because email filtering is handled by Cisco Secure Email (ESA). C is incorrect since endpoint protection is managed by Cisco Secure Client (AnyConnect) with AMP for Endpoints. D, CASB, refers to Cisco Cloudlock, not Stealthwatch. Stealthwatch builds host behavior baselines to detect insider threats, lateral movement, command-and-control communications, and data exfiltration. It correlates telemetry into security events, enriched by Cisco Talos Intelligence and identity data from ISE. The system includes the Flow Collector, Flow Sensor, and Management Console, forming a distributed architecture that scales across large enterprise networks. The Security Analytics Module (SAM) applies machine-learning algorithms to detect deviations from normal behavior. SCOR exam topics emphasize understanding Stealthwatch’s role in Cisco’s visibility and enforcement framework. Integration with Cisco SecureX allows Stealthwatch alerts to trigger automated containment workflows, such as quarantining an infected host through ISE. Stealthwatch also extends visibility into public cloud environments using Stealthwatch Cloud (Secure Cloud Analytics), providing consistent telemetry across hybrid infrastructures. Therefore, B is the correct answer because Stealthwatch is purpose-built for network visibility and behavioral analytics using flow telemetry, enabling rapid threat detection in complex networks.
Question 56:
Which Cisco technology is primarily used to provide secure remote access to corporate networks for mobile users while maintaining centralized control and policy enforcement?
A AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
B Cisco Meraki MX
C Cisco ISE
D Cisco Umbrella
Answer: A
Explanation:
The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is a comprehensive VPN client solution that enables secure remote connectivity for mobile users. It supports both SSL and IPsec (IKEv2) VPNs and is a cornerstone of Cisco’s remote access security architecture. AnyConnect ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of communication between endpoints and corporate networks. It integrates with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) for enforcement of security policies. The reason A is correct lies in its capability for adaptive security: AnyConnect dynamically evaluates device posture using posture assessment modules before allowing access, which ensures compliance with enterprise security standards.
B (Cisco Meraki MX) also offers VPN features but is mainly a cloud-managed security appliance rather than a client solution. It’s more suitable for site-to-site VPNs and SD-WAN deployments. C (Cisco Identity Services Engine) plays a complementary role by managing authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA), but it does not itself provide remote connectivity — it enforces policy after AnyConnect connects. D (Cisco Umbrella) protects DNS requests and web traffic by blocking malicious destinations but doesn’t create VPN tunnels.
The integration of AnyConnect with ISE, Umbrella, and AMP for Endpoints enables a layered security architecture — one that uses zero-trust principles. When users connect remotely, AnyConnect can share endpoint posture data (like antivirus status or OS patch level) with ISE, which then grants network access accordingly. Additionally, AnyConnect’s integration with Cisco Umbrella extends DNS-layer protection even when users are off the corporate VPN.
AnyConnect’s telemetry capabilities (via Network Visibility Module) also allow real-time user activity monitoring, helping detect anomalies and enforce compliance. It supports SAML-based authentication with MFA for additional protection.
Overall, A is correct because it provides the secure VPN connection required for mobile users, while the other options either focus on network infrastructure (B), policy enforcement (C), or DNS-layer security (D).
Question 57:
Which Cisco solution provides security analytics and behavioral modeling to detect network anomalies using machine learning?
A Cisco Firepower
B Cisco Stealthwatch
C Cisco Secure Endpoint
D Cisco Umbrella
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cisco Stealthwatch (now known as Cisco Secure Network Analytics) uses advanced machine learning, telemetry, and behavioral analysis to detect threats across the network by analyzing NetFlow and IPFIX data. This technology identifies patterns that deviate from normal behavior, signaling potential compromises such as insider threats, data exfiltration, or command-and-control traffic.
Option A, Cisco Firepower, focuses on intrusion prevention (NGIPS) and next-generation firewall capabilities, which are signature-based and policy-driven — not behavioral analytics. C, Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly AMP for Endpoints), secures individual devices by preventing and responding to malware infections but does not monitor network-wide telemetry. D, Cisco Umbrella, secures DNS-layer activity but is not a network anomaly detection system.
Stealthwatch uses the concept of network telemetry: it passively collects flow data from routers, switches, and firewalls without requiring packet capture. By analyzing metadata, it performs entity modeling, where each host is profiled according to normal traffic behavior. It then uses machine learning algorithms to identify deviations — for example, a sudden spike in outbound traffic to an unfamiliar destination might indicate data exfiltration.
Stealthwatch also integrates with Cisco ISE to gain contextual information such as user identity, device type, and location. This enriches the visibility of network behavior, allowing security teams to quickly pinpoint who or what is responsible for an anomaly. Furthermore, the Cognitive Intelligence feature (now part of SecureX) enhances cloud-based detection by correlating patterns across multiple organizations.
In summary, B is the correct choice because Cisco Stealthwatch provides the analytics, telemetry, and machine learning-driven visibility that are essential for behavioral threat detection. It complements tools like Firepower, ISE, and Umbrella, creating a holistic defense-in-depth approach for network security monitoring.
Question 58:
What is the main function of Cisco Firepower’s Access Control Policy (ACP)?
A To control routing and switching decisions
B To determine user authentication
C To define traffic inspection and permit/deny rules
D To perform NetFlow data analysis
Answer: C
Explanation:
The Access Control Policy (ACP) in Cisco Firepower defines how traffic should be inspected and what actions should be taken — whether to allow, trust, block, or inspect packets based on multiple attributes. It is the central policy framework for Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) and Firepower Management Center (FMC).
Option A is incorrect because routing and switching are managed by network devices like routers and switches, not Firepower policies. B (user authentication) is handled by external systems such as Cisco ISE or Active Directory integration. D (NetFlow analysis) is unrelated; that’s a function of Stealthwatch.
ACP is crucial for implementing next-generation firewall (NGFW) features: application control, URL filtering, intrusion prevention, and malware protection. Each rule in ACP specifies conditions like source/destination IPs, ports, applications, and security intelligence feeds. Administrators can assign different intrusion policies or file policies to match specific traffic.
For instance, if traffic matches a rule with a file policy, Firepower can perform malware analysis using Cisco Threat Grid or AMP. If a rule includes an intrusion policy, the system applies Snort-based detection to identify exploit signatures.
Firepower’s ACP also supports Security Intelligence (SI) lists — dynamic IP or URL blocklists sourced from Cisco Talos threat intelligence. These can automatically drop malicious traffic before deep inspection. Moreover, logging options in ACP allow security teams to record actions, aiding forensic investigation and compliance.
By combining contextual data such as application type and user identity (via ISE integration), Firepower enables granular policy enforcement. This aligns with Zero Trust principles, where traffic decisions are context-aware rather than based solely on IPs or ports.
Therefore, C is correct because the Access Control Policy governs the decision-making logic that defines how Firepower inspects and handles network traffic, ensuring comprehensive control and visibility.
Question 59:
Which protocol is primarily used by Cisco ISE for posture assessment and endpoint compliance checking?
A TACACS+
B RADIUS
C SNMP
D HTTP
Answer: B
Explanation:
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is the core protocol used by Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) for authenticating, authorizing, and accounting network access, as well as performing posture assessment. When integrated with AnyConnect, ISE uses RADIUS to exchange attributes related to endpoint posture — such as antivirus status, OS patches, and running processes — before granting network access.
Option A, TACACS+, is used for device administration and command authorization on network gear, not for endpoint posture. C, SNMP, is a management protocol for monitoring devices, while D, HTTP, may carry web portal interactions but not the underlying posture communication.
Posture assessment is central to Cisco’s Network Access Control (NAC) framework. Through RADIUS, ISE communicates with the AnyConnect Posture Module, which evaluates device health based on configured policies. If the device fails compliance, ISE can apply quarantine VLANs, ACLs, or redirects to remediation portals.
ISE leverages Change of Authorization (CoA) messages via RADIUS to dynamically modify session permissions once compliance is achieved. This dynamic enforcement supports the Zero Trust model — continually validating devices even after access is granted.
Furthermore, RADIUS attributes (AV pairs) are used to share contextual data with other Cisco components like Firepower and Stealthwatch, allowing unified visibility and threat correlation.
Hence, B is correct because RADIUS underpins Cisco ISE’s posture and policy enforcement workflows.
Question 60:
Which Cisco security component provides DNS-layer protection and cloud-delivered firewall capabilities?
A Cisco Secure Endpoint
B Cisco Umbrella
C Cisco Firepower
D Cisco ISE
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cisco Umbrella offers DNS-layer security, which blocks malicious domains before connections are established, and provides cloud-delivered firewall services for IP, port, and protocol filtering. This proactive defense mechanism stops threats earlier in the kill chain by preventing users from reaching malicious destinations altogether.
Option A (Secure Endpoint) focuses on malware protection at the device level. C (Firepower) provides deep packet inspection and NGFW services on-premises, but not DNS-layer protection. D (ISE) handles identity and access control.
Umbrella uses recursive DNS to enforce security policies globally without requiring hardware. It inspects DNS requests from endpoints or networks and compares them to threat intelligence from Cisco Talos. Suspicious or known-malicious domains are blocked immediately, minimizing exposure to phishing, botnets, or C2 servers.
The cloud-delivered firewall extends this by inspecting outbound IP and port-based traffic — ideal for securing remote users and branch offices. Umbrella also integrates with Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) features to manage application usage and enforce acceptable use policies.
Through integration with AnyConnect and SecureX, Umbrella enables unified policy enforcement across hybrid environments.
Thus, B is correct because Cisco Umbrella uniquely provides both DNS-layer and cloud firewall capabilities, making it a vital component in Cisco’s Secure Internet Gateway architecture.
