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.
Which TWO actions can be performed in a decryption policy? (Choose two.)
App-ID
Why wrong: App-ID is a feature, not a decryption policy action.
Allow
Why wrong: Allow is an action in security policy, not decryption policy.
No-decrypt
'No-decrypt' tells the firewall not to decrypt the matching traffic.
Block
Why wrong: Block is an action in security policy, not decryption policy.
Decrypt
'Decrypt' is a standard decryption policy action.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
No-decrypt
Option C (No-decrypt) is correct because a decryption policy rule can be configured with a 'No-decrypt' action to explicitly bypass decryption for specified traffic, such as traffic to sites that cannot be decrypted (e.g., financial or healthcare sites) or to reduce processing overhead. This action allows the firewall to forward the traffic without attempting SSL/TLS interception, which is essential for compliance and performance reasons.
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.
App-ID
Why it's wrong here
App-ID is a feature, not a decryption policy action.
Allow
Why it's wrong here
Allow is an action in security policy, not decryption policy.
No-decrypt
Why this is correct
'No-decrypt' tells the firewall not to decrypt the matching traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Block
Why it's wrong here
Block is an action in security policy, not decryption policy.
Decrypt
Why this is correct
'Decrypt' is a standard decryption policy action.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse security policy actions (like Allow and Block) with decryption policy actions, forgetting that decryption policy only supports Decrypt, No-decrypt, and Block, and that 'Allow' is not a valid decryption action.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the decryption policy operates before the security policy, and the action determines whether the firewall performs SSL/TLS proxy (Decrypt), forwards traffic without inspection (No-decrypt), or drops the session (Block). A real-world scenario where No-decrypt is critical is when handling traffic to sites using certificate pinning or legacy protocols that would break under decryption, such as certain banking apps or software update services.
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
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FAQ
Decryption and Monitoring — This question tests Decryption and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: No-decrypt — Option C (No-decrypt) is correct because a decryption policy rule can be configured with a 'No-decrypt' action to explicitly bypass decryption for specified traffic, such as traffic to sites that cannot be decrypted (e.g., financial or healthcare sites) or to reduce processing overhead. This action allows the firewall to forward the traffic without attempting SSL/TLS interception, which is essential for compliance and performance reasons.
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.
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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.
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