Google PCA Design for security and compliance Practice Question
A company hosts a web application on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and wants to protect against SQL injection attacks. Which service should they configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse identity-based access controls (IAP) with content-based threat detection (Cloud Armor). IAP controls who can access the application, while Cloud Armor protects against attacks like SQL injection at the web application firewall layer.
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 is the correct choice because it provides web application firewall (WAF) capabilities that can inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic and block SQL injection attempts using preconfigured rules (e.g., the OWASP Top 10 rule set). It integrates directly with GKE via HTTP(S) Load Balancing, allowing you to enforce security policies at the edge before requests reach your application.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)
Why it's wrong here
Identity-Aware Proxy enforces user identity and context-based access to applications; it inspects authentication, not HTTP payloads, so SQL injection strings pass through untouched. IAP would be correct for zero-trust access control to internal apps, whereas SQL injection requires a web application firewall.
- ✓
Cloud Armor
Why this is correct
Cloud Armor is Google Cloud's edge security service, applying WAF rules to external HTTP(S) load balancers in front of GKE workloads, and its preconfigured SQL injection ruleset blocks malicious query strings before they reach the application.
- ✗
Cloud Audit Logs
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Audit Logs records administrative and data-access activity for compliance and forensics after the fact; it neither inspects nor blocks malicious SQL syntax in inbound requests. It is tempting because it provides visibility across GKE and IAM actions, and would be correct when the requirement is audit trails of who did what, when.
- ✗
Container Analysis
Why it's wrong here
Container Analysis scans container images and metadata for known vulnerabilities and licence issues; it does not inspect HTTP request payloads, so SQL injection strings reaching the application are never evaluated. It is tempting because it hardens the GKE supply chain, and would be correct when the requirement is to detect vulnerable packages in deployed images.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Best Practices and Compliance
Key term
Anthos
Anthos is a Google Cloud platform that lets you run applications consistently across different computing environments, like on-premises data centers and multiple public clouds.
Key term
Google Kubernetes Engine
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service on Google Cloud that lets you deploy, scale, and manage containerized applications without having to operate the underlying cluster control plane.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCA 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 PCA exam.