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Question 121
Which Google Cloud feature prevents users from accidentally deleting critical production resources such as Compute Engine instances or Cloud Storage buckets?
A) Cloud NAT
Resource Manager Policy: disableTurboDeletion
C) Cloud Logging
D) Billing Export
Answer: B
Explanation:
The Organization Policy constraint disableTurboDeletion prevents deletion of supported resources without explicit additional verification, protecting production workloads from accidental or malicious deletion. This policy acts as a governance safeguard across entire projects or folders. In many enterprises, engineers may have legitimate permissions to manage resources but human error can lead to catastrophic operational incidents. By enforcing deletion restrictions, organizations ensure an extra protective layer that requires intentional removal steps. Cloud NAT (A) relates to outbound routing and has no connection to deletion prevention.
Cloud Logging (C) captures events but does not block actions. Billing Export (D) provides cost insights, not resource protection. Implementing disableTurboDeletion is a proactive strategy aligning with resilience frameworks and compliance requirements. When combined with IAM least-privilege principles, audit logs, and Infrastructure-as-Code workflows, this policy ensures resource lifecycle governance remains tightly controlleD) It reduces risk from inexperienced operators, compromised accounts, or automated scripts that fail unexpectedly. Furthermore, using this policy contributes to disaster recovery posture by preventing irreversible deletions of vital components such as production datasets or compute environments. Overall, disableTurboDeletion is essential for protecting high-value cloud resources.
Question 122
Which solution ensures container images deployed to GKE are scanned continuously for vulnerabilities even after initial deployment?
A) Cloud Router
Artifact Analysis Continuous Scanning
C) DNS Peering
D) Pub/Sub topics
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud Router is a networking component that enables dynamic routing between on-premises networks and Google Cloud using protocols like BGP. It is essential for hybrid connectivity scenarios where routes need to be automatically exchanged, but it has no connection to scanning software artifacts or detecting vulnerabilities in container images or packages. DNS Peering allows one VPC to resolve DNS queries using another VPC’s DNS configuration. While useful for multi-VPC environments or cross-project communication, DNS Peering does not provide any form of security scanning or artifact inspection. Pub/Sub topics are messaging channels used to exchange asynchronous messages between services. They support event-driven architectures and decoupled system design, but they do not scan, analyze, or evaluate container images or code artifacts.
Artifact Analysis Continuous Scanning, however, is specifically designed to continuously examine container images and other artifacts stored in Artifact Registry. It detects vulnerabilities, analyzes metadata, checks against updated vulnerability databases, and alerts teams when new security issues are discovered in previously scanned artifacts. This continuous monitoring ensures that organizations stay aware of emerging threats without needing to manually trigger scans. It helps maintain supply chain security, enforce compliance, and ensure that workloads deployed in production are built from secure and trustworthy components. Because the goal is to continuously detect vulnerabilities in stored images and artifacts, Artifact Analysis Continuous Scanning is the correct and most effective option among the choices provideD)
Question 123
Which method ensures that Cloud Functions cannot be invoked over the public Internet?
A) Allow unauthenticated access
Configure ingress settings to internal-only
C) Add IAM roles only
D) Enable Cloud DNSSEC
Answer: B
Explanation:
Allowing unauthenticated access makes a service publicly reachable by anyone on the internet without requiring identity verification, which exposes the application to unauthorized use and potential security risks. This option is generally discouraged for sensitive or internal applications because it removes all access control barriers and provides no restrictions on who can invoke the service. Adding IAM roles alone does not guarantee network-level protection because IAM controls who is authorized to interact with a service at the API level, but it does not prevent the service from being reachable over the public internet. Even with restrictive IAM policies, an application exposed externally could still become a target of unwanted traffic, scanning attempts, or denial-of-service patterns. Enabling Cloud DNSSEC enhances DNS security by protecting domain names from spoofing or cache poisoning attacks, but it does not influence whether a service is internally or externally accessible and does not restrict ingress paths. Configuring ingress settings to internal-only ensures that the application is accessible exclusively from internal network environments such as a Virtual Private Cloud or trusted internal IP ranges. This setting prevents external internet access entirely, reducing the attack surface and ensuring that only internal systems or authorized networks can reach the service. For applications intended to operate strictly within a controlled environment, internal-only ingress provides a strong security boundary by blocking all public entry points. Because the requirement is to ensure that access is restricted to internal traffic and not exposed publicly, configuring ingress to internal-only is the most appropriate and effective choice among the available options.
Question 124
Which approach eliminates the need to store service account keys in CI/CD systems while still allowing deployments?
A) Hard-coded JSON keys
Workload Identity Federation
C) Public API keys
D) Password secrets
Answer: B
Explanation:
Hard-coded JSON keys involve embedding long-lived service account credentials directly into application code or configuration files. This approach introduces significant security risks because these keys can easily be leaked through version control systems, logs, or accidental sharing. Once exposed, they provide attackers with prolonged access to cloud resources, and managing rotation or revocation becomes difficult and error-prone. Public API keys are even less secure because they are intended for lightweight or low-sensitivity use cases and cannot authenticate workloads or users in a strong, identity-aware manner. They are easy to obtain, often lack detailed access controls, and offer minimal protection against misuse, making them unsuitable for secure authentication to cloud services. Password secrets present similar risks, as they are static, can be shared unintentionally, and require manual rotation. Passwords provide weak identity guarantees and are vulnerable to brute-force or credential stuffing attacks. They also do not integrate well with automated systems requiring scalable, temporary authentication. Workload Identity Federation, however, eliminates the need for long-lived credentials entirely. It allows workloads running outside Google Cloud, such as on-premises environments or other clouds like AWS and Azure, to exchange short-lived OAuth tokens using their native identity provider. This avoids storing sensitive keys, reduces the attack surface, and ensures that credentials expire quickly if compromiseD) Workload Identity Federation also simplifies operations by integrating with existing identity systems without requiring key distribution. Because it provides secure, temporary, and identity-based authentication without relying on static secrets, Workload Identity Federation is the most secure and effective option among the choices.
Question 125
Which solution ensures that only selected internal IP ranges can reach a Cloud Load Balancer backend service?
A) Cloud Armor Geo-Blocking
Load Balancer Internal Mode
C) VPC Flow Logs
D) NAT Gateway
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud Armor Geo-Blocking is designed to filter or block incoming HTTP(S) traffic based on geographic locations. This helps protect publicly exposed applications from unwanted traffic originating from specific regions, and can reduce exposure to region-specific attacks. However, geo-blocking does not change whether a service is fundamentally public or internal. Even if traffic from certain regions is blocked, the service still remains reachable from the internet, which does not meet requirements for internal-only access. VPC Flow Logs provide visibility into network traffic within and across subnets. They help administrators analyze patterns, troubleshoot issues, and detect unusual traffic flows. Despite their value for monitoring, flow logs do not restrict access or determine whether a load balancer or service is exposed internally or externally. They simply record what traffic has already occurred rather than enforcing boundaries. A NAT Gateway enables instances in private subnets to make outbound connections to the internet without needing a public IP. While this improves security for virtual machines, it does not influence how clients reach a load balancer or whether the load balancer accepts external traffiC) NAT Gateway functionality applies to outbound instance traffic, not inbound application access. A Load Balancer deployed in internal mode, however, ensures that the application is accessible only from within the VPC or connected private networks. This configuration prevents any external internet traffic from reaching the service, creating a strong isolation boundary. Internal load balancers support internal workloads, microservices architectures, and private applications that should not be publicly exposeD) Because the requirement is to keep the service internal-only and inaccessible from the public internet, configuring the load balancer in internal mode is clearly the correct and most effective choice.
Question 126
Which feature protects VM boot integrity by detecting unauthorized kernel or bootloader changes?
A) OS Login
Shielded VM Integrity Monitoring
C) Cloud Functions triggers
D) VPC firewall rules
Answer: B
Explanation:
OS Login is a feature that centralizes SSH access management by linking Linux login permissions on virtual machine instances to IAM identities. It improves access control, simplifies auditing, and removes the need to manually manage SSH keys, but its scope is limited strictly to user authentication and authorization for VM access. It does not provide any capability for detecting or monitoring potential tampering of the underlying system boot process or the integrity of the VM’s operating environment. Cloud Functions triggers are designed to execute serverless functions in response to specific events such as storage changes, Pub/Sub messages, or HTTP requests. While they are essential for automation and event-driven architectures, they have no relationship to VM security posture or runtime integrity validation. VPC firewall rules manage inbound and outbound network traffic by filtering connections based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols. These rules help define network boundaries and limit connectivity, but they do not detect unauthorized modifications to VM internals or changes in the system state. Shielded VM Integrity Monitoring, however, provides continuous verification that virtual machine instances have not been tampered with. It monitors the boot process, checks for unexpected changes to firmware or kernel parameters, and ensures that the VM is running in a validated and trusted state. This capability helps defend against rootkits, boot-level attacks, and unauthorized system modifications that traditional networking or IAM controls cannot detect. Because the goal is to ensure that the VM remains uncompromised and operates with verified integrity, Shielded VM Integrity Monitoring is the most appropriate and effective option among the listed choices.
Question 127
Which method ensures that BigQuery datasets are never stored in unapproved geographic regions?
A) IAM deny policies
Organization Policy: allowedResourceLocations
C) Cloud Monitoring alerts
D) NAT routing
Answer: B
Explanation:
IAM deny policies allow organizations to explicitly block certain actions or access paths regardless of what other IAM permissions might grant. While they provide a powerful mechanism to prevent specific operations, they are focused strictly on identity and permission control. IAM deny policies do not dictate where resources can be created or restrict the geographic placement of those resources. Cloud Monitoring alerts help teams track performance metrics, uptime, and system health, triggering notifications when thresholds are crossed or abnormal behavior is detecteD) Although alerts enhance operational awareness, they play no role in enforcing where cloud resources may reside and cannot prevent the creation of resources in disallowed regions. NAT routing enables private instances to access the internet without exposing them through public IP addresses. This is valuable for network security and egress management, but it has nothing to do with regional restrictions or resource placement governance. The Organization Policy option allowedResourceLocations is specifically designed to control which Google Cloud regions and zones may be used for resource creation. By enforcing this policy, organizations can ensure compliance with data residency requirements, regulatory constraints, internal governance standards, or corporate risk guidelines. It prevents teams from accidentally or intentionally provisioning resources outside approved geographic boundaries, thereby maintaining consistent regional governance. Because the goal is to restrict resource creation to specific permitted locations, the Organization Policy allowedResourceLocations is the most appropriate and effective choice among the options provideD)
Question 128
Which feature prevents accidental exposure of Cloud Storage objects through publicly shared URLs?
A) Signed URL TTL
Public Access Prevention
C) CMEK
D) Cloud Router
Answer: B
Explanation:
Signed URL TTL provides time-limited access to specific objects, usually in Cloud Storage, by generating a URL that becomes invalid after a defined expiration perioD) While this mechanism is useful for granting temporary, controlled access to individual files without requiring users to have IAM permissions, it does not prevent resources from being publicly accessible if bucket-level or object-level policies allow public access. It simply controls how long a specific signed link remains valiD) CMEK focuses on customer-managed encryption keys, giving organizations control over the encryption keys used to protect stored datA) This enhances security by allowing key rotation and by ensuring only authorized key holders can decrypt the datA) However, CMEK does not influence whether data can be publicly accessed, and it is not a mechanism for restricting exposure. Cloud Router is a networking component used for dynamic route exchange between on-premises and Google Cloud environments. It plays a key role in hybrid connectivity architectures but has no relationship to public access controls or data exposure prevention. Public Access Prevention is specifically designed to block any form of public access to Cloud Storage buckets and objects, regardless of IAM roles, ACLs, or misconfigurations. Once enabled, it ensures that no user outside the organization or project can access the content publicly, effectively eliminating accidental or intentional public exposure. This provides a strong security boundary that prevents data leaks and enforces strict private access requirements. Because the objective is to prevent public access entirely and guarantee that no configuration override can make data public, Public Access Prevention is the most appropriate and effective choice among the options.
Question 129
Which technology encrypts data in use within virtual machines?
A) CMEK encryption
Confidential VM
C) SSL certificate
D) IAM role encryption
Answer: B
Explanation:
CMEK encryption allows organizations to control and manage the encryption keys used to protect their data at rest within Google Cloud services. While this strengthens ownership of encryption keys and meets compliance requirements, it primarily protects stored data and does not secure data while it is being processed in memory by applications or workloads. SSL certificates ensure secure data transmission over the network by encrypting information as it travels between clients and servers, preventing interception and tampering. Although essential for protecting data in transit, SSL certificates do not safeguard data during computation or runtime operations within virtual machines. IAM role encryption is not a real mechanism for securing data; IAM roles define permissions and access policies, but they do not provide encryption capabilities or protect data during sensitive processing tasks. Confidential VM technology, however, is specifically designed to protect data while it is being processed by leveraging advanced hardware-based memory encryption. Confidential VMs use secure enclaves powered by technologies such as AMD SEV or Intel TDX to ensure that even privileged system components, hypervisors, cloud administrators, or potential attackers cannot read the contents of memory. This approach secures the most vulnerable phase of the data lifecycle, known as data in use, which traditional encryption methods do not address. Because it provides strong runtime protection, prevents unauthorized memory access, and enhances workload confidentiality without requiring application modifications, Confidential VM is the most effective and suitable choice among the options listeD)
Question 130
Which method ensures that service accounts used by developers cannot be used outside of approved time windows?
A) Cloud NAT
IAM Conditions with time-based rules
C) Audit Logs
D) Cloud DNS
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud NAT enables virtual machine instances without public IP addresses to make outbound connections to the internet while preventing unsolicited inbound traffiC) Although this improves network security and supports private workloads that require external access, Cloud NAT does not provide any form of identity-based or time-bound access control for users or service accounts. It simply manages outbound network routing and is not designed to enforce conditional logic or temporal restrictions on resource permissions. Audit Logs record administrative actions, data access events, and system activities across various Google Cloud services. They are essential for compliance, forensics, and visibility into who did what and when, but they do not prevent actions from occurring. Audit Logs are reactive and observational rather than proactive and restrictive. Cloud DNS provides scalable, managed domain name resolution and supports internal and external DNS configurations. While critical for service discovery and routing, Cloud DNS does not control access to cloud resources and cannot impose conditions based on time, context, or identity attributes. IAM Conditions with time-based rules, however, allow administrators to create highly granular access controls that restrict when certain permissions can be useD) Organizations can enforce policies such as limiting access to specific hours, allowing temporary escalations only within approved time windows, or preventing service accounts from being used outside business hours. Time-based IAM conditions help reduce risk by ensuring that permissions are active only when appropriate and cannot be abused during off-hours or outside approved operational periods. Because the requirement is to enforce time-sensitive access restrictions, IAM Conditions with time-based rules is the most appropriate and effective choice among the options.
Question 131
Which feature identifies if a Cloud Storage bucket becomes publicly exposed due to a misconfiguration?
A) Pub/Sub
Security Health Analytics
C) Cloud NAT
D) VPC Firewall Logs
Answer: B
Explanation:
Pub/Sub is a messaging service designed to support asynchronous communication between decoupled systems. It enables applications to send and receive messages reliably, making it useful for event-driven architectures, data pipelines, and distributed processing. However, Pub/Sub does not analyze security configurations, detect misconfigurations, or evaluate the security posture of cloud resources. It focuses strictly on messaging and event distribution rather than identifying risks. Cloud NAT provides outbound internet access for private virtual machine instances without exposing them through public IP addresses. While this is valuable for network security and controlled egress traffic, it does not perform any analysis of resource security configurations or detect vulnerabilities. VPC Firewall Logs record details about allowed and denied traffic within a virtual private cloud environment. They help with troubleshooting, traffic analysis, and identifying unusual network behavior. Although useful for monitoring, firewall logs require manual review or additional tooling to extract security insights, and they do not automatically identify misconfigured cloud resources. Security Health Analytics, however, is specifically designed to evaluate cloud environments for misconfigurations, security gaps, and compliance risks. It continuously scans resources such as storage buckets, IAM policies, firewall rules, virtual machines, and network configurations to identify issues like public exposure, overly permissive access, lack of encryption, or outdated security controls. By generating detailed findings and integrating with security dashboards, it provides actionable insights that help teams remediate risks proactively. Because the objective is to detect security misconfigurations across a cloud environment in an automated and continuous manner, Security Health Analytics is the most accurate and effective option among the choices provideD)
Question 132
Which mechanism ensures that GKE workloads authenticate to Google APIs without storing service account keys inside containers?
A) JSON key mounting
Workload Identity
C) SSH agent forwarding
D) Static API keys
Answer: B
Explanation:
JSON key mounting involves placing long-lived service account keys directly onto a workload’s filesystem or container environment so the application can authenticate to cloud services. This introduces significant operational and security risks because these static keys can be accidentally exposed through logs, code repositories, container images, or misconfigured file permissions. Once leaked, they allow persistent unauthorized access and require manual rotation, which is difficult to manage safely. SSH agent forwarding is a technique used for forwarding local SSH keys to remote systems through an encrypted connection, typically used for administrative access rather than workload authentication. It does not solve the problem of securely identifying workloads to cloud services and can even introduce risks if not configured carefully, as compromised remote hosts may misuse forwarded keys. Static API keys provide very limited security, offering no identity assurance and lacking granular permissions or automatic rotation. They are easy to leak and unsuitable for sensitive cloud operations, as they cannot strongly verify a service’s identity. Workload Identity, however, eliminates the need for long-lived credentials entirely by allowing applications to authenticate using the native identity provided by their execution environment. In Google Cloud, this means workloads running on GKE, Compute Engine, or Cloud Run can securely obtain short-lived tokens without storing keys. This drastically reduces the attack surface, provides automatic credential rotation, simplifies operational management, and integrates closely with IAM for fine-grained access control. Because it removes the dependency on vulnerable static credentials and provides secure, scalable authentication, Workload Identity is the most effective and recommended option among the choices provideD)
Question 133
Which technology prevents attackers from moving laterally inside a GKE cluster?
A) API keys
Network Policies
C) Debug logging
D) Cloud DNS
Answer: B
Explanation:
API keys provide only basic authentication and are generally intended for lightweight use cases where strong identity verification is not requireD) They lack granular access control, are static unless manually rotated, and can be easily exposed if embedded in code or configuration files. Because API keys do not control network traffic between workloads, they are ineffective for isolating services or enforcing communication boundaries inside a cluster. Debug logging focuses on troubleshooting and visibility by generating detailed logs that help developers understand application behavior. Although useful for diagnosing issues, debug logging does not provide any mechanism for restricting traffic between workloads, limiting communication paths, or enforcing security segmentation. Cloud DNS is responsible for domain name resolution and enables services to discover each other using hostnames. While critical for routing traffic, Cloud DNS does not enforce network controls and cannot block communications between workloads or namespaces. Network Policies, however, are specifically designed to control traffic flow within a Kubernetes environment. They allow administrators to define which pods or namespaces may communicate with each other and which should be isolateD) By default, many clusters allow unrestricted east-west traffic, which can create security risks if one compromised workload can freely access others. Network Policies restrict ingress and egress at the pod level, creating micro-segmentation and significantly reducing lateral movement risks. This is essential for securing containerized applications, especially in multi-tenant or complex architectures. Because Network Policies directly limit how workloads communicate and enforce internal traffic restrictions, they are the most appropriate and effective option among the choices provideD)
Question 134
Which solution enforces TLS termination using certificates automatically managed by Google Cloud?
A) Manual certificate upload
Google-managed certificates
C) DNS CNAME
D) Cloud NAT
Answer: B
Explanation:
Manual certificate upload requires administrators to generate, manage, and rotate SSL or TLS certificates themselves, which can quickly become burdensome and error prone. This approach places full responsibility for certificate lifecycle operations on the organization, including renewal before expiration, secure storage of private keys, and correct deployment across load balancers or services. If certificates are not renewed on time, applications can experience outages or expose users to security warnings. Additionally, manual processes increase the risk of misconfiguration, such as uploading the wrong certificate, forgetting to rotate keys, or deploying certificates inconsistently across environments. DNS CNAME records are used to map one domain name to another, helping with DNS-level redirection or aliasing, but they do not handle encryption, certificate provisioning, or secure connections. While important for directing traffic, CNAME records have no capability to manage or enforce secure communication for HTTPS endpoints. Cloud NAT provides outbound internet connectivity for private instances without assigning them public IP addresses, helping to secure network egress, but it does not deal with certificates or secure incoming traffiC) It is strictly a networking component and cannot automate certificate generation, renewal, or deployment. Google-managed certificates, however, are specifically designed to simplify and secure the process of enabling HTTPS for applications hosted on Google Cloud load balancers. With Google-managed certificates, Google Cloud automatically provisions certificates for configured domains, renews them before expiration, and deploys them reliably without requiring manual intervention. This greatly reduces operational overhead and minimizes common certificate-related issues that can cause downtime or weaken security. Administrators only need to specify the domain names, and the platform handles the entire lifecycle of the certificates, including responding to domain validation challenges. Google-managed certificates also ensure industry-standard strong encryption without requiring deep knowledge of certificate management practices. By automating a typically complex and high-risk task, they help maintain consistent security, reduce administrative errors, and provide a more seamless experience for applications that need secure HTTPS traffiC) Because the objective is to ensure reliable, secure, and maintenance-free certificate management, Google-managed certificates are the most efficient, secure, and appropriate option among the choices listeD)
Question 135
Which feature prevents deletion of BigQuery datasets required for regulatory compliance?
A) VPC Peering
Table expiration
C) CMEK rotation
D) Dataset-level retention lock
Answer: D
Explanation:
VPC Peering is a networking mechanism that allows two Virtual Private Cloud networks to communicate privately without traversing the public internet. It is useful for connecting separate environments, sharing services, or consolidating internal traffic between different projects. However, VPC Peering has no relevance to data retention, deletion control, or governance protections at the dataset or table level. It strictly manages network connectivity and does not influence how long data remains stored in analytical systems such as BigQuery. Table expiration provides automated lifecycle management by specifying how long a table should exist before it is automatically deleteD) This is helpful for managing costs, cleaning up temporary tables, and ensuring short-lived datasets are removed when no longer needeD) However, table expiration is designed for automated cleanup, not for guaranteeing that data cannot be deleteD) If anything, table expiration can accelerate data deletion rather than prevent it. CMEK rotation involves regularly rotating customer-managed encryption keys to maintain cryptographic hygiene and reduce the risk of key compromise. While CMEK rotation strengthens encryption practices and ensures that data remains protected with modern keys, it does not address retention requirements or prevent data from being removeD) Data protected with CMEK can still be deleted unless additional controls are in place. Dataset-level retention lock, however, is specifically designed to enforce strict retention governance by preventing the deletion of data before a defined retention period has passeD) This feature ensures that datasets remain intact and cannot be altered, truncated, or removed by users or administrators until the retention policy allows it. This is critical for industries with regulatory, legal, or compliance obligations requiring guaranteed preservation of data for audit, investigation, or archival purposes. Retention lock provides immutability and safeguards against accidental or intentional deletion, making it far more robust than table expiration or encryption mechanisms. Because the question focuses on preventing premature deletion and ensuring long-term data integrity, dataset-level retention lock is the most appropriate and effective choice among the listed options.
Question 136
Which security layer protects against volumetric DDoS attacks on global load balancers?
A) Cloud Armor Adaptive Protection
VPC Firewall
C) Cloud DNS
D) BigQuery slots
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cloud Armor Adaptive Protection is specifically designed to provide intelligent, automated defense against complex and evolving attacks targeting applications and services exposed through Google Cloud load balancers. Traditional security tools often struggle with sophisticated traffic patterns, such as large-scale distributed denial-of-service attacks or subtle layer-7 attacks that attempt to overwhelm applications by mimicking legitimate user behavior. Adaptive Protection uses machine learning models to analyze incoming traffic, detect anomalies, and identify deviations from normal patterns in real time. It can automatically generate suggested security policies that help mitigate threats before they escalate, reducing the operational burden on security teams and improving response times. In contrast, VPC Firewall rules operate at the network layer and control traffic based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols. While essential for establishing baseline network security, they cannot identify advanced attack patterns or analyze behavioral traffic anomalies. Firewalls require manual configuration, and they lack contextual intelligence to dynamically adapt to evolving threats. Cloud DNS provides scalable name resolution for domains and services but does not offer any protective capabilities against traffic-based attacks or application-layer threats. It ensures reliable DNS operations but does not evaluate traffic characteristics or defend against malicious activity. BigQuery slots are a compute resource allocation mechanism that determines how quickly queries run within the BigQuery analytics platform. They are unrelated to network, application, or traffic security and have no role in detecting or mitigating external threats. Cloud Armor Adaptive Protection stands out because it brings automated, behavior-aware, and continuously learning defense capabilities to protect publicly accessible applications. It helps organizations identify potential attacks early, generates actionable policies, and integrates with Cloud Armor’s broader suite of security features. By combining machine learning with operational security controls, it offers a proactive and highly effective method for shielding applications against sophisticated threats. Therefore, Cloud Armor Adaptive Protection is the most appropriate and effective choice among the options provideD)
Question 137
Which feature restricts the creation of external load balancers in production environments?
A) IAM roles
Org Policy: restrictLoadBalancerTypes
C) NAT gateways
D) Pub/Sub policies
Answer: B
Explanation:
IAM roles are designed to control what actions users and service accounts are allowed to perform within Google ClouD) They define permissions such as creating resources, modifying configurations, or accessing data, and they are essential for implementing the principle of least privilege. However, IAM roles do not determine which types of load balancers can or cannot be createD) Even if IAM restricts who can create load balancers, it cannot enforce a rule that limits the allowed categories of load balancers at the organization or project level. It is focused on identity and access, not on enforcing infrastructure governance related to resource types. NAT gateways provide outbound internet access for private virtual machine instances without requiring them to have public IP addresses. They help secure egress traffic and ensure that internal resources remain inaccessible from the public internet. While important for network architecture, NAT gateways have no relevance to restricting which load balancer designs teams are allowed to deploy. Pub/Sub policies control message publishing and subscription permissions in event-driven systems. They help regulate who can send and receive messages, enforce message-level access, and ensure secure communication across distributed systems, but they do not influence the ability to create or manage load balancers. The organization policy restrictLoadBalancerTypes is specifically intended to enforce governance rules regarding which kinds of load balancers can be provisioned within an organization or project. This policy allows administrators to prohibit the creation of external load balancers, global load balancers, or any other types that do not align with internal security or compliance requirements. By applying this policy at the organization level, companies can prevent accidental exposure of applications to the public internet, reduce attack surfaces, and ensure consistent architectural patterns across teams. It ensures that network resources adhere to enterprise standards without requiring manual review or reactive enforcement. Because the goal is to restrict certain load balancer types in a consistent, policy-driven way, the organization policy restrictLoadBalancerTypes is the most appropriate and effective option among the choices provideD)
Question 138
Which method ensures secure and identity-aware access to internal TCP services?
A) Public IP exposure
IAP TCP forwarding
C) Firewall allow rules
D) NAT routing
Answer: B
Explanation:
Public IP exposure involves assigning a public IP address to a virtual machine or service so that it can be accessed directly over the internet. While this approach may seem convenient for administrators who want quick access, it significantly increases the attack surface of the system. Exposing a resource publicly invites risks such as unauthorized scanning, brute-force attempts, exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities, and other forms of malicious probing. Even if firewall rules are configured, relying on public exposure still places the burden on administrators to continually maintain strict controls and monitoring. Firewall allow rules are useful for controlling traffic by specifying which IP ranges, ports, and protocols are permitted to reach a resource. These rules help restrict access, but they do not fundamentally eliminate the risks associated with external access paths. If administrators accidentally misconfigure a rule or allow overly broad access, the resource can quickly become exposeD) NAT routing provides outbound internet access for private instances without assigning them public IP addresses. While it effectively protects resources from inbound external connections, NAT is limited to outbound traffic control and does not provide a secure method for administrators to connect into instances. It is not a remote access tool, nor does it solve secure administrative ingress. IAP TCP forwarding, however, is specifically designed to provide secure, identity-aware access to internal resources without requiring public exposure. With IAP TCP forwarding, administrators authenticate using their Google Cloud identity, and only authorized users who meet IAM policy requirements can establish TCP connections to internal services or virtual machines. This means that the VM can remain completely private, without a public IP address, while still being accessible for maintenance and administrative tasks. The access path is protected through Google’s infrastructure, identity verification, and encrypted tunnels, removing the need for VPNs or exposed endpoints. Because it eliminates public exposure and ensures access is tied directly to verified user identities, IAP TCP forwarding is the most secure and appropriate choice among the listed options.
Question 139
Which solution ensures that only certain projects can use Cloud KMS key rings?
A) Folder scripts
IAM constraints on key rings
C) VPC firewall
D) Cloud Monitoring
Answer: B
Explanation:
Folder scripts refer to manually created automation tools that administrators might run at the folder level to enforce certain naming standards, apply policies, or manage resources. While scripts can help achieve consistency, they rely heavily on manual maintenance, custom logic, and proper execution by administrators. They do not provide strong enforcement guarantees, and if overlooked or improperly executed, they can lead to policy drift or inconsistent security controls. Scripts also introduce operational complexity and potential errors, making them unsuitable for enforcing strict governance requirements. VPC firewall rules manage network traffic by allowing or denying connections based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols. Although indispensable for network segmentation and protection, VPC firewall rules do not control access to encryption keys or restrict key usage within Cloud KMS. They offer no mechanism to prevent the creation, rotation, or disabling of keys, nor can they enforce governance boundaries around key rings. Cloud Monitoring provides observability into metrics, logs, and system performance, enabling teams to track system health, detect anomalies, and respond to incidents. However, monitoring tools do not enforce security policies or govern the lifecycle of encryption keys. They can alert teams to an issue, but they cannot prevent unauthorized key usage or restrict administrative operations within Cloud KMS. IAM constraints on key rings, on the other hand, are specifically designed to enforce governance at the organizational level for Cloud KMS. These constraints help restrict which projects or folders are allowed to create or manage key rings, ensuring encryption key lifecycle operations remain tightly controlleD) By applying organization policies to KMS key rings, administrators can prevent unauthorized environments from generating new keys, reduce the risk of shadow key creation, and maintain strict compliance with regulatory or internal security requirements. This approach provides strong, centrally managed enforcement rather than relying on manual scripts or indirect controls. Because the goal is to enforce governance and restrict where KMS key rings may be created or managed, IAM constraints on key rings is the most effective and appropriate option among the choices provideD)
Question 140
Which approach enforces encryption for all Cloud Storage buckets by default across an organization?
A) Manual bucket settings
Organization Policy: requireEncryption
C) Firewall rules
D) Cloud Deploy
Answer: B
Explanation:
Manual bucket settings allow administrators to individually configure encryption, access policies, and protection features for each storage bucket. While this approach provides flexibility, it relies heavily on human oversight and consistency. In large organizations with many teams and numerous buckets, it becomes easy for someone to forget to enable encryption or accidentally misconfigure settings in a way that violates internal security policies. Manual configuration also increases operational overhead, requires periodic audits, and leaves room for drift or mistakes that can expose sensitive datA) Firewall rules, although essential for controlling network traffic, do not enforce storage encryption. They operate at the network layer and cannot guarantee that data stored in buckets is encrypteD) They are useful for controlling who can access certain services or networks, but they play no role in governing encryption requirements for data at rest in storage systems. Cloud Deploy is a continuous delivery and deployment service that automates application release pipelines. It ensures consistent delivery of applications across environments but has no relationship to encryption management or storage bucket protection. Cloud Deploy does not enforce security policies on data storage nor does it validate encryption configurations. The organization policy requireEncryption, however, directly addresses the need to enforce encryption across all storage buckets automatically and consistently. By applying this organization policy, administrators can mandate that all buckets created within the organization use server-side encryption, ensuring compliance with internal governance and regulatory requirements. This policy removes the risk of human error, prevents the creation of unencrypted buckets, and enforces a uniform security posture across projects and teams. It provides centralized, automated enforcement at the organizational level rather than relying on manual configuration or after-the-fact monitoring. Because the goal is to ensure that all storage buckets meet encryption standards without exception, the organization policy requireEncryption is the most effective and appropriate choice among the options provided.
