PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
A company wants to decrypt all SSL/TLS traffic from internal users except traffic to financial sites. The firewall is placed as a forward proxy. Which policy configuration ensures that traffic to financial sites is not decrypted?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse security policies with decryption policies, or mistakenly think that a 'decrypt' action with an exemption list is equivalent to a 'no-decrypt' policy, when in fact Palo Alto Networks requires a separate decryption policy with the 'no-decrypt' action for explicit exclusion.
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
✓
Create a decryption policy with action 'no-decrypt' for traffic to financial sites, and a catch-all decryption policy with action 'decrypt' for all other traffic.
It uses a specific 'no-decrypt' action in a decryption policy for financial sites, which explicitly excludes them from SSL/TLS decryption. A catch-all policy with 'decrypt' then ensures all other internal user traffic is decrypted. This approach directly aligns with the forward proxy requirement to decrypt all traffic except the specified financial sites.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a decryption policy and use the 'exclude cache' option for financial sites.
Why it's wrong here
The 'exclude cache' option controls which decrypted content is cached, not whether decryption occurs; financial sites would still be decrypted. It is tempting because it references exclusions, but it is designed to prevent caching of sensitive decrypted content, not to exempt destinations from decryption.
- ✗
Create a security policy that allows financial sites without decryption; then create a decryption policy with action 'no-decrypt' for those sites.
Why it's wrong here
A security policy cannot prevent decryption; decryption is governed solely by decryption policies, so the no-decrypt rule would still be evaluated and applied regardless. This split approach is tempting because security policies control allowed traffic, but they operate after decryption has already occurred.
- ✗
Create a decryption policy with action 'decrypt' and a source zone of internal; then create a decryption exemption for financial URLs.
Why it's wrong here
A decryption policy with action 'decrypt' matches internal-zone traffic and decrypts it before any exemption is evaluated, so financial sites are still decrypted. Exemptions are tempting because they suggest exclusion, but the correct mechanism is a no-decrypt rule matching financial sites before the decrypt rule.
- ✓
Create a decryption policy with action 'no-decrypt' for traffic to financial sites, and a catch-all decryption policy with action 'decrypt' for all other traffic.
Why this is correct
Policy rules are evaluated top-down, so the specific no-decrypt rule for financial sites must precede the catch-all decrypt rule. This ordering ensures matching financial traffic bypasses decryption, satisfying the requirement to exclude those sites while decrypting everything else.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSA 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 PCNSA exam.