Cybersecurity-Apprentice Cybersecurity Fundamentals Practice Question
A security analyst is hardening a Palo Alto Networks firewall against common reconnaissance and risk exposure vectors. Which TWO configuration steps should the analyst take to secure the management plane? (Choose two)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure an interface Management Profile that restricts administrative access (HTTPS, SSH) to trusted management IP addresses only.
Securing the management plane involves restricting administrative access via Management Profile source IP whitelisting and ensuring strong administrative authentication settings.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy an Antivirus security profile on outbound HTTP Security policy rules.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Antivirus profiles protect data plane traffic, not the firewall's management plane.
- ✓
Configure an interface Management Profile that restricts administrative access (HTTPS, SSH) to trusted management IP addresses only.
Why this is correct
Correct. Limiting management access to known administrative subnets reduces the attack surface significantly.
- ✗
Disable the captive portal service on all internal user-facing security zones.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Captive portal is used for user identification and authentication, not management plane hardening.
- ✗
Configure dynamic DNS updates on the external untrusted interface.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Dynamic DNS is unrelated to management plane security hardening.
- ✓
Enable Authentication Profile settings to enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative logins.
Why this is correct
Correct. Enforcing MFA mitigates credential theft risks for administrative accounts.
About these practice questions
One of 177 original Cybersecurity-Apprentice practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This Cybersecurity-Apprentice practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the Cybersecurity-Apprentice exam.