PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
An organization deploys SSL Forward Proxy decryption. They want to ensure that traffic to financial websites is not decrypted due to compliance requirements. Which decryption policy configuration should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think a 'Decrypt' rule with a specific category is needed to handle financial traffic, but the correct approach is to explicitly exclude it with 'No Decrypt' to comply with regulations.
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 rule with action 'No Decrypt' for the URL category 'Financial Services'.
SSL Forward Proxy decryption rules are evaluated in order, and the first matching rule determines the action. To exclude financial websites from decryption, you must create a rule with action 'No Decrypt' that matches the 'Financial Services' URL category. This ensures traffic to those sites is not decrypted, meeting compliance requirements.
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 rule with action 'Decrypt' and destination zone 'Untrust'.
Why it's wrong here
Decrypting traffic to the Untrust zone would still decrypt financial sites, directly breaching the compliance requirement. It is tempting because a Decrypt rule scoped to a destination zone is the normal way to enforce SSL Forward Proxy inspection broadly, but here the rule must match the financial URLs and set No Decrypt.
- ✓
Create a decryption rule with action 'No Decrypt' for the URL category 'Financial Services'.
Why this is correct
A decryption rule matching the Financial Services URL category with action 'No Decrypt' exempts that traffic from SSL Forward Proxy inspection, satisfying the compliance constraint that financial sites remain encrypted. Rule order matters: it must precede any broader decrypt rule.
- ✗
Create a decryption rule with action 'No Decrypt' for all traffic, then a rule above it to decrypt all other traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Placing a blanket No Decrypt rule first means the subsequent Decrypt rule never matches, so no traffic is inspected at all. It is tempting because a top-down deny-then-allow ordering is a familiar firewall pattern, but decryption rules evaluate sequentially, so the exception must sit above the general Decrypt rule.
- ✗
Create a decryption rule with action 'Decrypt' for the URL category 'Financial Services'.
Why it's wrong here
A Decrypt rule for Financial Services does the opposite of the compliance requirement, since SSL Forward Proxy decrypts matching traffic. It tempts because decryption rules are the mechanism, but the correct configuration sets action 'No Decrypt' for that URL category.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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