. What is Cisco Firepower and how does it differ from traditional firewalls?

Answer: Cisco Firepower is an integrated threat defense solution. It combines next-generation firewall (NGFW) features with advanced intrusion prevention. It also provides malware defense and url filtering. Unlike traditional firewalls, which focus primarily on controlling access to network resources, Firepower offers deep packet inspection. It also provides advanced threat detection and continuous threat monitoring.

2. Explain the concept of Application Visibility and Control (AVC) in Cisco Firepower.

Answer: Application Visibility and Control (AVC) is a feature in Cisco Firepower. It allows administrators to find applications within the network. It also lets them check and manage those applications. AVC provides granular control over applications, enabling policies based on application usage, user identity, and other contextual information.

3. What is the role of Firepower Management Center (FMC) in managing Firepower devices?

Answer: Firepower Management Center (FMC) is the centralized management console for Cisco Firepower devices. It provides a single interface for managing security policies, monitoring network traffic, analyzing threats, and reporting incidents. FMC allows administrators to manage multiple Firepower devices, including firewalls, IPS, and AMP, from a unified platform.

4. How does Cisco Firepower handle SSL/TLS traffic decryption?

Answer: Cisco Firepower can decrypt SSL/TLS traffic to inspect encrypted traffic for threats. It uses SSL policies that define which traffic should be decrypted and inspected. Firepower can also do re-encryption after inspection to keep end-to-end encryption.

5. What is a Security Intelligence Feed in Cisco Firepower, and how is it used?

Answer: Security Intelligence Feeds in Cisco Firepower are dynamic lists of known malicious IP addresses, URLs, and domains. These feeds are regularly updated and used to block or allow traffic based on real-time threat intelligence. Administrators can set up policies to drop, check, or trust traffic based on these feeds.

6. Describe the role of the Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software.

Answer: Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) is the software that powers Cisco Firepower appliances. It integrates advanced threat protection features like NGFW, IPS, AMP, and URL filtering into a single software image. FTD provides unified threat management across multiple security vectors.

7. How does Firepower’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) work?

Answer: Firepower’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) detects and blocks threats by analyzing network traffic. It looks for known attack signatures, anomalies, and behavior patterns. It operates in inline mode to actively block threats or in passive mode for detection and alerting only. The IPS can also be configured to do custom rule creation based on specific security needs.

8. What is the purpose of Firepower’s Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)?

Answer: Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco Firepower is designed to detect, block, and remediate malware infections. AMP continuously monitors files and applications across the network. It uses threat intelligence from Cisco Talos to find known and emerging threats. It provides retrospective security, allowing administrators to track and contain threats even after they have entered the network.

9. How can you implement High Availability (HA) in Cisco Firepower?

Answer: High Availability (HA) in Cisco Firepower can be implemented in two ways. You can set up two Firepower devices in an Active/Standby setup. Alternatively, use an Active/Active setup. HA ensures that if one device fails, the other can take over, providing uninterrupted security services. HA configurations involve synchronizing configurations, sessions, and state information between the devices.

10. Explain the use of Firepower’s URL Filtering feature.

Answer: URL Filtering in Cisco Firepower allows administrators to control access to websites based on URL categories. These categories include social media, gambling, or malicious sites. Firepower uses a URL database that categorizes millions of URLs, enabling granular control over web traffic. Policies can be configured to block, monitor, or allow access to specific categories or individual URLs.

11. What is the role of Network Discovery in Firepower?

Answer: Network Discovery in Cisco Firepower provides visibility into the devices, applications, and users within the network. It helps build an inventory of assets and detects changes in the network environment. This information is used to enhance security policies, improve threat detection, and support incident response efforts.

12. How does Cisco Firepower perform file control and inspection?

Answer: Cisco Firepower’s file control and inspection feature allows administrators to monitor and control file transfers over the network. It can block, allow, or log file types based on policies. Firepower inspects files for malware, sensitive data, and compliance violations. It provides a more layer of security against data exfiltration and malware propagation.

13. What are the different deployment modes available in Cisco Firepower?

Answer: Cisco Firepower can be deployed in various modes, including:

• Routed Mode: Firepower acts as a Layer 3 device, routing traffic between different network segments.
• Transparent Mode: Firepower operates at Layer 2, bridging traffic between interfaces without changing IP addresses.
• Inline Mode: Firepower inspects traffic passing through it, blocking or allowing traffic based on policies.
• Passive Mode: Firepower monitors traffic without actively blocking it, used primarily for traffic analysis and alerting.

14. How can you create custom Snort rules in Cisco Firepower?

Answer: Custom Snort rules can be created in Cisco Firepower. Access the FMC and navigate to the Intrusion Policy settings. Administrators can write custom rules using the Snort rule syntax, which allows for the detection of specific network traffic patterns. These rules can be applied to the Firepower devices to enhance threat detection capabilities.

15. What is Firepower’s connection event, and how is it used?

Answer: Connection events in Cisco Firepower provide detailed logs of network connections that pass through the device. These events include information such as source and destination IP addresses, ports, protocols, and the outcome of the connection (allowed, blocked, etc.). Connection events are crucial for monitoring network activity, troubleshooting issues, and conducting forensic analysis.

16. How do you perform a backup and restore of the Firepower Management Center (FMC)?

Answer: You can perform backup and restore of the Firepower Management Center (FMC) through the FMC interface. Navigate to System > Tools > Backup/Restore. Administrators can schedule regular backups or perform manual backups, storing the backup files on a secure location. Restoring from a backup involves selecting the backup file and following the prompts to restore the FMC configuration and data.

17. Explain the role of FlexConfig in Cisco Firepower.

Answer: FlexConfig in Cisco Firepower allows administrators to implement advanced configuration options. These options are not natively supported through the standard FMC interface. FlexConfig provides a scripting environment. This environment supports custom configurations like advanced routing protocols. It also supports custom NAT rules or specific firewall behaviors. This feature enhances the flexibility and customization of Firepower deployments.

18. How does Firepower’s Identity-Based Policy Enforcement work?

Answer: Identity-Based Policy Enforcement in Cisco Firepower integrates with directory services like Active Directory. This allows it to apply security policies based on user identity rather than just IP addresses. This feature allows for more granular control. It enables policies that take into account user roles, group memberships, and specific user behaviors. It enhances security by ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive resources.

19. What is the purpose of Firepower’s rate-based detection?

Answer: Rate-based detection in Cisco Firepower is used to identify and mitigate network attacks. These attacks involve high volumes of traffic. Examples include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Firepower monitors traffic rates and triggers alerts or blocks traffic when it exceeds predefined thresholds. This feature helps protect the network from volumetric attacks that can overwhelm network resources.

20. How do you monitor and troubleshoot performance issues in Cisco Firepower?

Answer: Monitoring and troubleshooting performance issues in Cisco Firepower can be done using tools and features such as:

• Performance Monitoring: FMC provides dashboards and reports that show resource usage, throughput, and latency.
• Health Monitoring: Alerts and logs in FMC help identify hardware or software issues.
• Packet Captures: Administrators can use packet captures to analyze network traffic and pinpoint issues.
• System Diagnostics: Running diagnostics from the FMC or CLI provides insights into potential problems. These insights include high CPU usage or memory leaks.

These advanced questions and answers cover key concepts and technical details that experienced professionals would encounter when working with Cisco Firepower.