CV0-004 Security Practice Question
A company uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and wants to enforce that all service accounts used by applications have only the permissions necessary to perform their tasks. Which IAM concept should the administrator apply?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Least privilege
The principle of least privilege dictates granting only the required permissions. In GCP, this is achieved by assigning predefined roles that are narrowly scoped to specific services, and by using conditions to further restrict access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Separation of duties
Why it's wrong here
Separation of duties splits conflicting tasks across different identities to prevent fraud; it does not restrict a single service account to only its required permissions. It is tempting because it is also a least-privilege-adjacent control, and would be correct if the concern were one person holding both approval and execution rights.
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Privileged access management (PAM)
Why it's wrong here
PAM governs, approves and audits elevated human access to privileged accounts; it does not constrain what permissions a service account holds. It is tempting because PAM also limits excessive privilege, and would be correct if the requirement were just-in-time elevation for administrators rather than least privilege for workload identities.
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Role-based access control (RBAC)
Why it's wrong here
RBAC assigns predefined roles containing bundled permissions, so it grants broad sets rather than the minimum each service account needs. It is tempting because RBAC is the core GCP IAM mechanism, and would be correct if the requirement were simply to grant permissions to service accounts in a manageable way.
- ✓
Least privilege
Why this is correct
Least privilege grants each service account only the IAM roles its task requires, nothing broader. Applied through predefined or custom roles on GCP, it directly satisfies the stem's constraint that service accounts hold only the permissions necessary for their work.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CV0-004 exam.