The answer is AWS Traffic Mirroring, which must be implemented to send traffic to a Cisco Firepower appliance for inspection. This is correct because Traffic Mirroring captures and forwards network traffic from Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs) to a security appliance out-of-band, allowing an organization to monitor all traffic between instances within the same subnet without altering the VPC routing table or forcing the Firepower inline—a configuration that is not natively possible in a VPC without a gateway appliance. On the Cisco SCOR / CCNP Security Core 350-701 exam, this question tests your understanding of cloud-native traffic inspection methods versus traditional inline deployments; a common trap is confusing Traffic Mirroring with VPC peering or transit gateway solutions, which do not provide per-ENI traffic capture for intra-subnet inspection. Remember the memory tip: “Mirror, not reroute”—Traffic Mirroring copies traffic for analysis, while routing changes would disrupt the data path.
350-701 Cloud Security Practice Question
This 350-701 practice question tests your understanding of cloud security. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An organization uses AWS with a VPC and wants to inspect all traffic between instances in the same subnet using Cisco Firepower. What must be implemented?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Traffic Mirroring to send traffic to a Firepower appliance
AWS Traffic Mirroring captures and forwards network traffic from Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs) to a security appliance, such as a Cisco Firepower instance, for inspection. This allows the organization to monitor all traffic between instances within the same subnet without requiring changes to the routing table or placing the Firepower inline, which is not possible in a VPC without a gateway appliance. Option B is correct because Traffic Mirroring is the native AWS feature designed for out-of-band traffic inspection.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Configure VPC Endpoints to route traffic through Firepower
Why it's wrong here
VPC Endpoints are for accessing AWS services, not for inspecting east-west traffic.
✓
AWS Traffic Mirroring to send traffic to a Firepower appliance
Why this is correct
Traffic Mirroring copies packets to Firepower for east-west inspection.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS Security Groups and log to Firepower
Why it's wrong here
Security Groups are stateful firewalls but cannot send logs to Firepower for inspection.
✗
Deploy Firepower as a transparent bridge in the subnet
Why it's wrong here
Transparent bridging is not supported in AWS; traffic must be mirrored.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that you can deploy a transparent bridge or inline firewall within a VPC subnet, but AWS does not support Layer 2 bridging; Traffic Mirroring is the only way to achieve out-of-band inspection for intra-subnet traffic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Traffic Mirroring uses the VPC Mirror Service to clone packets from a source ENI and forward them to a target ENI (e.g., a Firepower instance) using VXLAN encapsulation (UDP port 4789). This enables deep packet inspection without introducing latency or a single point of failure in the data path, as the mirrored traffic is a copy and the original flow remains unaffected. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for compliance with PCI DSS or HIPAA, where all east-west traffic must be inspected for threats without disrupting production traffic.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Cloud Security — This question tests Cloud Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Traffic Mirroring to send traffic to a Firepower appliance — AWS Traffic Mirroring captures and forwards network traffic from Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs) to a security appliance, such as a Cisco Firepower instance, for inspection. This allows the organization to monitor all traffic between instances within the same subnet without requiring changes to the routing table or placing the Firepower inline, which is not possible in a VPC without a gateway appliance. Option B is correct because Traffic Mirroring is the native AWS feature designed for out-of-band traffic inspection.
What should I do if I get this 350-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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