Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company is migrating a large on-premises data warehouse to BigQuery. The data includes sensitive customer information that must be encrypted at rest and in transit. They also need to mask credit card numbers for analysts who do not have a need to see the full number. Which TWO Google Cloud services should they use? (Choose 2.)
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 Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
BigQuery supports column-level security via policy tags using Data Catalog. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) can automatically classify and mask sensitive data such as credit card numbers. Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) is for managing encryption keys but not for masking. Cloud Audit Logs are for auditing, not masking. Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) controls access at the application level, not for data masking.
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 Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)
Why it's wrong here
IAP controls access to applications, not to data within BigQuery tables.
- ✓
Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why this is correct
DLP can inspect and de-identify sensitive data, such as masking credit card numbers, before storing in BigQuery.
- ✓
Cloud Data Catalog and policy tags
Why this is correct
Data Catalog with policy tags allows defining access controls and masking rules at column level in BigQuery.
- ✗
Cloud Audit Logs
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs record access but do not mask data.
- ✗
Cloud Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS manages encryption keys but does not provide data masking capabilities.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
BigQuery
BigQuery is a fully managed, serverless data warehouse on Google Cloud that lets you run fast SQL queries on massive datasets without managing any infrastructure.
Key term
Data warehouse
A data warehouse is a central repository that stores large amounts of structured data from multiple sources, optimized for querying and analysis rather than day-to-day transactions.
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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.