Let's Learn Palo Alto NGFW: A Case Study of Checkpoint, Juniper, Cisco, Hacking and Knowing Thyself

Let’s Learn Palo Alto NGFW is the first-ever technical manual marrying information security technology to a rich, fictional narrative. The combination of fact and imagination strives to engage, inform and entertain. The narrative follows Nielair. He is a man of many names: a digital security guru, an industry unto himself, a trailblazer. Hernyka works the counter at an NYC hole-in-the-wall electronic store. Their chance meeting on a sweltering summer morning kindles discovery and adventure. Hernyka thirsts for knowledge. Nielair desires a student. Together they lose days in the comparative study, configuration, and management of Palo Alto, Check Point, Juniper, Cisco, Arbor, SourceFire and F5 products. Guided by the mysterious Nielair, Hernyka dives deep into next-generation firewall concepts, networking fundamentals, NAT, Layer 2/3, Tap and VWire deployment methods. Hernyka’s curiosity isn’t confined by digital trends, though. The spark between student and teacher is explosive. Hernyka and Nielair challenge each other on politics, religion and philosophy. Conspiracy theories, the new world order, flat earth theory, cults, porn and countless mysteries bounce between them. The pair embarks on an adventure through New York and beyond. Their road is paved with hacking, pen-testing, open-source tools, hardware specifications, API management, and securing applications and operating systems. Nielair’s guidance molds Hernyka into a master of App-ID, vulnerability protection, content and URL filtering, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Web Application Firewall (WAF), proxies, authentication, VPNs, failover, the Panorama management tool, and troubleshooting. Through Hernyka, readers will learn to build—and then break—an NGFW. Nielair teaches network security and network hacking alike. His lessons illuminate NMAP and other scanning tools, information gathering, password management, cracking, and hacking using Kali Linux. Do you want to build a Trojan? Reverse engineer viruses? Master Cyber Threat Intelligence? Hernyka learns malware analysis, digital data elimination, device encryption, anonymous networks like TOR, evading mass surveillance, and more. Let’s Learn Palo Alto NGFW is a complete guide for security professionals and IT experts. Even seasoned pros often lack confidence in key areas. Fear no more; Hernyka and Nielair cover Wireshark packet captures with essential TCP/IP concepts (for amateurs as well as pros), BGP, and HTTP. Every lesson is in clear, concise language. Let’s Learn Palo Alto NGFW will leave IT novices and pros alike with the utmost confidence in their day-to-day work. Once out from New York, though, Nielair and Hernyka face impossible decisions. What is their relationship? Who are they, truly? Are they student and teacher…or something more? The whole of North America opens before them, infinite with possibility. They can (and will) be anyone. Do they start an IT company and set the world on fire? Do they part ways? Or do they follow the open road all the way to Alaska’s coalfields?