- A
Deploy a Compute Engine VM with a cron job that calls the IAM API nightly.
Why wrong: A persistent VM is not serverless and requires patching and maintenance — not the most efficient approach.
- B
Use Cloud Scheduler to trigger a Cloud Function that queries Cloud Asset Inventory and disables stale service accounts.
Cloud Scheduler + Cloud Function is fully serverless. Cloud Asset Inventory provides `lastAuthenticatedTime` for service accounts, and the IAM API can disable them programmatically.
- C
Configure an org policy that automatically expires service accounts after 90 days.
Why wrong: No native org policy constraint provides automatic SA expiration based on inactivity; this must be custom-built.
- D
Use Security Command Center to flag and manually disable unused service accounts.
Why wrong: SCC can flag findings but does not provide automated remediation on its own; manual action is required, which does not meet the automation requirement.
Serverless Solution to Disable Stale Service Accounts in GCP
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ace exam topics. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your security team requires that all service accounts in your GCP organization older than 90 days that have not been used must be automatically disabled. They want a fully managed, serverless solution with no persistent infrastructure. Which architecture best meets these requirements?
Quick Answer
The correct architecture is to use Cloud Scheduler to trigger a Cloud Function that queries Cloud Asset Inventory and disables stale service accounts. This solution meets the requirement to automatically disable unused service accounts in GCP because Cloud Scheduler provides a fully managed cron trigger, the Cloud Function runs as serverless code with no persistent infrastructure, and Cloud Asset Inventory efficiently identifies accounts older than 90 days with no last authentication time. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of combining serverless compute with GCP’s asset metadata services, and a common trap is choosing a Compute Engine-based cron job or a Cloud Run service with a container, both of which introduce persistent infrastructure. Remember the key pairing: Cloud Scheduler for the schedule, Cloud Function for the logic, and Cloud Asset Inventory for the data—think “Scheduler-Function-Inventory” as your serverless audit triad.
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
Use Cloud Scheduler to trigger a Cloud Function that queries Cloud Asset Inventory and disables stale service accounts.
Option B is correct because Cloud Scheduler can trigger a serverless Cloud Function on a schedule (e.g., nightly) to query Cloud Asset Inventory for service accounts older than 90 days with no last authentication time, then disable them via the IAM API. This meets the fully managed, serverless requirement with no persistent infrastructure (no VMs or servers to maintain).
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy a Compute Engine VM with a cron job that calls the IAM API nightly.
Why it's wrong here
A persistent VM is not serverless and requires patching and maintenance — not the most efficient approach.
- ✓
Use Cloud Scheduler to trigger a Cloud Function that queries Cloud Asset Inventory and disables stale service accounts.
Why this is correct
Cloud Scheduler + Cloud Function is fully serverless. Cloud Asset Inventory provides `lastAuthenticatedTime` for service accounts, and the IAM API can disable them programmatically.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure an org policy that automatically expires service accounts after 90 days.
Why it's wrong here
No native org policy constraint provides automatic SA expiration based on inactivity; this must be custom-built.
- ✗
Use Security Command Center to flag and manually disable unused service accounts.
Why it's wrong here
SCC can flag findings but does not provide automated remediation on its own; manual action is required, which does not meet the automation requirement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that Organization Policies can enforce time-based lifecycle actions on IAM resources, but they only provide static constraints (e.g., 'constraints/iam.disableServiceAccountCreation'), not dynamic expiration or usage-based disabling.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Asset Inventory's 'iam_policy' asset type includes the 'lastAuthenticationTime' field for service accounts, which can be filtered using the Cloud Asset List API with a time-based query. The Cloud Function uses the IAM API's `projects.serviceAccounts.disable` method to disable the account; note that disabling a service account is reversible (unlike deletion), which aligns with security best practices. In a real-world scenario, you might also add a notification step (e.g., Pub/Sub to Slack) before disabling to avoid disrupting critical workloads.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Cloud Scheduler to trigger a Cloud Function that queries Cloud Asset Inventory and disables stale service accounts. — Option B is correct because Cloud Scheduler can trigger a serverless Cloud Function on a schedule (e.g., nightly) to query Cloud Asset Inventory for service accounts older than 90 days with no last authentication time, then disable them via the IAM API. This meets the fully managed, serverless requirement with no persistent infrastructure (no VMs or servers to maintain).
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 ACE exam.
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