Cloud Digital Leader Google Cloud Products and Services Practice Question
A company has a multi-regional deployment of a web application on Compute Engine. They want to improve latency for users worldwide and reduce load on the origin servers. They also need to protect against SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks. Which TWO Google Cloud services should they implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
GCDL often tests service-purpose pairing; candidates pick Cloud Load Balancing as an answer because it is 'needed,' but the question asks for the services that provide caching and WAF, which are Cloud CDN and Cloud Armor respectively.
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
✓
Cloud Armor
Cloud Armor (B) is correct because it is Google Cloud's edge security service that provides WAF capabilities, including preconfigured rules to block SQL injection (e.g., sqli-v33-stable) and cross-site scripting (e.g., xss-v33-stable) attacks against HTTP(S) load-balanced backends. Cloud CDN (D) is correct because caching content at Google's globally distributed edge points of presence reduces latency for worldwide users and offloads requests from the Compute Engine origin servers. Cloud DNS (A) only provides authoritative DNS resolution and does not cache HTTP content or inspect application-layer attacks. Cloud NAT (C) provides outbound internet connectivity for private instances and offers no latency or WAF benefits. Cloud Load Balancing (E) distributes traffic but does not itself cache content or provide WAF protection, so it does not satisfy both requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud DNS
Why it's wrong here
Cloud DNS is a managed authoritative DNS service that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses. It operates at the DNS layer and is entirely unaware of HTTP request content, so it cannot inspect for SQL injection or XSS patterns. While DNS can influence traffic routing via latency-based policies, it neither caches web content nor enforces security rules, making it irrelevant to the attack described.
- ✓
Cloud Armor
Why this is correct
Cloud Armor is Google Cloud's web application firewall (WAF) that provides configurable security policies for HTTP(S) load balancing. It includes pre-configured rules from the ModSecurity Core Rule Set to block SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other OWASP Top 10 threats. Cloud Armor also supports IP allow/deny lists, geo-based access controls, and rate limiting, making it the precise service to protect a web application from the stated attacks.
- ✗
Cloud NAT
Why it's wrong here
Cloud NAT provides outbound internet connectivity to private VM instances that lack external IP addresses, while blocking unsolicited inbound connections. It operates at the network layer and has no visibility into application-layer payloads, so it cannot identify malicious HTTP requests like SQLi or XSS. Additionally, Cloud NAT does not cache any content, so it serves a completely different purpose than a WAF or CDN.
- ✓
Cloud CDN
Why this is correct
Cloud CDN uses Google's global edge network to cache static and dynamic content closer to users, reducing latency and backend load. While it can improve performance and help absorb some volumetric DDoS attacks, its core function is content caching, not security inspection. Cloud CDN cannot examine incoming request bodies for SQL injection or XSS signatures, as that requires a dedicated WAF service like Cloud Armor.
- ✗
Cloud Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Load Balancing distributes incoming traffic across multiple backends to achieve scalability and high availability, supporting both L3/L4 and L7 (HTTP/S) modes. However, its role is traffic routing, not security enforcement; it does not inspect request payloads for malicious patterns. Load balancing also does not cache content, so it fails to address either the performance or the WAF security requirements of the scenario.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Security: Encryption and Access Controls
Key term
Cloud Load Balancing
Cloud Load Balancing is the process of distributing incoming network traffic across multiple servers or resources in the cloud to ensure no single resource is overwhelmed, improving availability and reliability.
Key term
Cloud CDN
A Cloud CDN is a network of servers spread around the world that stores copies of your website or app content so it loads faster for users no matter where they are.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.