Which method should be used to authenticate to Prisma Cloud Enterprise programmatically?

Programmatic, or machine-to-machine, interaction with the Prisma Cloud Enterprise API is authenticated using access keys. An administrator first creates an access key, which consists of an Access Key ID and a Secret Key, within the Prisma Cloud UI. This long-lived key is then used to make an initial API call to an authentication endpoint, which returns a short-lived JSON Web Token (JWT). This JWT is then used as a bearer token in the authorization header for all subsequent API calls, providing a secure method for automated scripts and integrations.

A: Single sign-on (SSO) is a mechanism designed for interactive user logins to a user interface, not for programmatic API authentication. B: SAML is a specific protocol used to implement web-based SSO for human users and is not used for authenticating direct API calls. C: Basic authentication (sending a username and password with each request) is not the primary, secure method used by the Prisma Cloud API.

- Palo Alto Networks, "Prisma Cloud API Reference," Authentication section. The documentation explicitly states: "To use the API, you must first create an access key... Use the access key to log in to the API. A successful login returns a JSON Web Token (JWT) that you must include in the header of all subsequent requests."