The answer is to create a more specific decryption policy that only decrypts necessary traffic. This is correct because the firewall’s CPU spike stems from processing unnecessary SSL/TLS handshakes and encryption overhead for social media traffic, which is irrelevant to the hospital’s security goals. By refining the policy scope to exclude non-essential destinations, you directly reduce the decryption performance spike without additional hardware, aligning with Palo Alto Networks’ best practice of minimizing decryption to only traffic requiring inspection. On the PCNSA exam, this scenario tests your understanding of policy optimization as a first-line troubleshooting step before considering hardware upgrades—a common trap is assuming more hardware always solves a throughput issue. Remember the memory tip: “Decrypt only what you inspect, not what you suspect.”
PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
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.
A hospital network uses a Palo Alto Networks firewall with outbound SSL decryption. The IT security team notices that during peak hours, the firewall CPU utilization spikes to 95% when decryption is enabled, causing latency for all users. They have already upgraded to maximum licensed throughput and added a dedicated decryption engine. However, the issue persists. The network has 10,000 endpoints and 500 Mbps throughput. The decryption policy includes rules to decrypt all traffic to critical medical cloud services (EHR, PACS) and social media sites. What should the administrator do first to reduce CPU load?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a more specific decryption policy to only decrypt necessary traffic.
The correct answer is A because the firewall is decrypting unnecessary traffic (social media sites) in addition to critical medical cloud services. By refining the decryption policy to exclude non-essential traffic, the administrator reduces the CPU load from SSL/TLS handshake and encryption processing, directly addressing the spike without requiring hardware changes. This aligns with Palo Alto Networks best practices of minimizing decryption scope to only traffic that requires inspection.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 more specific decryption policy to only decrypt necessary traffic.
Why this is correct
Decrypting only critical medical cloud services reduces the number of sessions requiring decryption, lowering CPU usage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase the decryption session timeout value.
Why it's wrong here
Longer timeouts keep more sessions active, increasing memory and CPU usage, not decreasing.
✗
Replace the firewall with a higher-end model.
Why it's wrong here
Before hardware replacement, optimizing decryption policy is a more cost-effective first step.
✗
Enable SSL acceleration hardware offloading.
Why it's wrong here
The dedicated decryption engine already provides hardware acceleration; this step is redundant.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume hardware upgrades or offloading features are the immediate fix, but the PCNSA exam emphasizes that policy optimization (decrypting only what is necessary) is the first step before considering hardware changes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SSL decryption on Palo Alto Networks firewalls involves terminating the client SSL/TLS connection, inspecting the plaintext, and re-encrypting to the server, which consumes CPU cycles for cryptographic operations (e.g., RSA key exchange, AES encryption). Even with a dedicated decryption engine (like the DP or SSP module), the firewall must process each session's handshake and data; decrypting high-volume, low-risk traffic like social media sites unnecessarily taxes the CPU. A more specific decryption policy using URL categories, source zones, or destination IP ranges can exclude such traffic, reducing the number of concurrent decrypted sessions and lowering CPU utilization.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Decryption and Monitoring — This question tests Decryption and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a more specific decryption policy to only decrypt necessary traffic. — The correct answer is A because the firewall is decrypting unnecessary traffic (social media sites) in addition to critical medical cloud services. By refining the decryption policy to exclude non-essential traffic, the administrator reduces the CPU load from SSL/TLS handshake and encryption processing, directly addressing the spike without requiring hardware changes. This aligns with Palo Alto Networks best practices of minimizing decryption scope to only traffic that requires inspection.
What should I do if I get this PCNSA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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