This PCNSA practice question tests your understanding of decryption and monitoring. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 administrator wants to view logs related to decryption failures. Which log type should they use?
Traffic logs
Traffic logs include fields for decryption status and failure reason.
Threat logs
Why wrong: Threat logs record security threats, not decryption failures.
URL Filtering logs
Why wrong: URL Filtering logs show URL categories, not decryption errors.
System logs
Why wrong: System logs show administrative events, not per-session decryption failures.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Traffic logs
Traffic logs capture all session-level events, including decryption failures, because they record the action taken by the firewall (e.g., 'decrypt', 'no-decrypt', or 'decrypt-error'). When decryption fails due to issues like certificate validation errors, unsupported cipher suites, or handshake failures, the firewall logs the session as a traffic log entry with a specific reason code. This makes Traffic logs the correct source for troubleshooting decryption failures.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Traffic logs
Why this is correct
Traffic logs include fields for decryption status and failure reason.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Threat logs
Why it's wrong here
Threat logs record security threats, not decryption failures.
URL Filtering logs
Why it's wrong here
URL Filtering logs show URL categories, not decryption errors.
System logs
Why it's wrong here
System logs show administrative events, not per-session decryption failures.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'decryption failures' with 'threat events' and select Threat logs, not realizing that decryption errors are session-level actions logged in Traffic logs, not security threat detections.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
URL Filtering logs show URL categories, not decryption errors.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, decryption failures are recorded in the traffic log's 'Decryption' field, which can show values like 'decrypt-error' along with a sub-reason (e.g., 'cert-verify-failed', 'ssl-handshake-failed'). In a real-world scenario, if a client uses an outdated TLS version or an untrusted CA, the firewall will log the session in Traffic logs with a 'decrypt-error' action, allowing the administrator to correlate the failure with the specific source and destination IPs.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the PCNSA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Decryption and Monitoring — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Decryption and Monitoring practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All PCNSA questions
524 questions across all exam domains
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator PCNSA study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
PCNSA practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Managing Objects.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Policy Evaluation and Management.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Securing Traffic.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Core Concepts.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Palo Alto Networks Platforms and Architecture.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Device Management and Services.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to App-ID and Content-ID.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to Decryption and Monitoring.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to PCNSA fundamentals.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to PCNSA scenario.
Practise PCNSA questions linked to PCNSA troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Decryption and Monitoring — This question tests Decryption and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Traffic logs — Traffic logs capture all session-level events, including decryption failures, because they record the action taken by the firewall (e.g., 'decrypt', 'no-decrypt', or 'decrypt-error'). When decryption fails due to issues like certificate validation errors, unsupported cipher suites, or handshake failures, the firewall logs the session as a traffic log entry with a specific reason code. This makes Traffic logs the correct source for troubleshooting decryption failures.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.