Threat ID 9999 is a specific identifier found in security logs that indicates a security policy has been matched by traffic, where a URL Filtering profile is attached and the action taken is something other than 'Allow'.
Understanding Threat ID 9999
A log entry displaying Threat ID 9999 signifies a critical event within a network security environment. This ID is generated when network traffic triggers a security policy that includes a URL Filtering profile, and the action associated with this profile is not set to 'Allow'. Instead, the system has taken a different protective measure.
Key aspects of Threat ID 9999 include:
- Policy Match: It confirms that specific network traffic has successfully matched a predefined security policy.
- URL Filtering Involvement: The triggered policy explicitly has a URL Filtering profile applied to it. This profile is designed to control access to web content based on categories, reputations, or custom URL lists.
- Non-'Allow' Action: Crucially, the action taken by the security device is anything other than simply permitting the traffic. This could mean the traffic was blocked, reset, alerted, or some other restrictive action was applied.
For clarity, here's a summary of the identifier:
| Threat ID | Description |
|---|---|
| 9999 | Security policy match with a URL Filtering profile, where the action is not 'Allow'. |
Investigating Threat ID 9999 Entries
When Threat ID 9999 appears in a threat log, it signals that an enforced URL Filtering policy has intercepted traffic and taken a defensive stance. To fully understand the context of such an event, it is essential to examine the detailed log view. This detailed view provides comprehensive information about:
- Type of Traffic: What kind of application, protocol, or destination was involved.
- Source and Destination: The origin and target of the communication.
- URL Category: The specific URL category that triggered the filtering action (e.g., gambling, malware, unknown, phishing).
- Applied Action: The precise action taken by the security device, such as:
- Block: The connection was terminated.
- Reset-client/Reset-server/Reset-both: TCP connections were reset from the client, server, or both ends.
- Alert: An alert was generated, but the traffic might have been allowed (though less common for non-'Allow' scenarios).
- Override: A custom override was applied based on policy.
Analyzing these details is crucial for security teams to assess the nature of the threat or policy violation, fine-tune security policies, and ensure appropriate protection. For instance, if legitimate traffic is being blocked due to an overly restrictive URL Filtering policy, adjustments may be necessary. Conversely, if malicious or unwanted traffic is consistently triggering this ID, it confirms the security measures are effectively preventing unauthorized access or activity.
