PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
A network administrator wants to monitor HTTPS traffic without decrypting it, but still wants to identify the applications being used. Which feature can be used to identify HTTPS applications without decryption?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse SSL Forward Proxy (which requires decryption) with SSL protocol detection (which does not), or assume URL Filtering alone can identify applications within encrypted traffic, but it only identifies the destination URL, not the application itself.
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
✓
App-ID with SSL protocol detection
App-ID with SSL protocol detection allows the firewall to identify HTTPS applications by inspecting the Server Name Indication (SNI) field in the TLS handshake and the certificate common name, without decrypting the traffic. This enables application identification while preserving encryption, meeting the requirement to monitor HTTPS traffic without decryption.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSL Decryption Mirror
Why it's wrong here
SSL Decryption Mirror copies decrypted session traffic to a passive monitoring tool; it requires decryption to occur and does not itself identify applications. It is tempting for out-of-band inspection, yet the requirement is identification without decryption, which App-ID achieves by inspecting the TLS handshake and certificate.
- ✓
App-ID with SSL protocol detection
Why this is correct
App-ID with SSL protocol detection inspects the TLS handshake fields, such as the server name indication and certificate, to classify the application without decrypting payloads. This satisfies the requirement to identify HTTPS applications while preserving privacy.
- ✗
SSL Forward Proxy
Why it's wrong here
SSL Forward Proxy decrypts outbound TLS sessions by presenting a proxy certificate, so traffic is decrypted rather than inspected in encrypted form. It is tempting because it exposes application data for inspection, but the scenario explicitly forbids decryption; App-ID identifies HTTPS applications from handshake metadata without decrypting.
- ✗
URL Filtering
Why it's wrong here
URL Filtering categorises destinations by web address and cannot distinguish applications sharing a domain or port. It is tempting because it inspects HTTPS metadata without decryption, but it returns category verdicts, not application identity; App-ID identifies the specific application from TLS handshake and certificate attributes.
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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.