- A
Create custom roles with secrets.get permission and bind to each service account at the individual secret resource.
Custom roles allow fine-grained access; binding at secret level ensures least privilege.
- B
Grant each service account the roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor role at the project level.
Why wrong: Project-level access allows reading all secrets.
- C
Use a single service account for all microservices with access to all secrets.
Why wrong: Violates least privilege and separation of duties.
- D
Grant each service account the roles/secretmanager.admin role at the secret level.
Why wrong: Admin role includes permission to modify, too permissive.
Question 712 of 1,000
Google PCA Design for security and compliance Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design for security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company manages secrets for multiple microservices using Secret Manager. They need to ensure that each service can access only its own secrets, and that all access is logged. What is the best IAM architecture?
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
✓
Create custom roles with secrets.get permission and bind to each service account at the individual secret resource.
Option A is correct because it follows the principle of least privilege by binding custom roles with the `secrets.get` permission at the individual secret resource level, ensuring each microservice can only access its own secrets. This also enables fine-grained access control and logging, as Secret Manager audit logs capture each access attempt per secret and service account. By using a custom role, you avoid granting unnecessary permissions like `list` or `create`, which are included in predefined roles.
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.
- ✓
Create custom roles with secrets.get permission and bind to each service account at the individual secret resource.
Why this is correct
Custom roles allow fine-grained access; binding at secret level ensures least privilege.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Grant each service account the roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor role at the project level.
Why it's wrong here
Project-level access allows reading all secrets.
- ✗
Use a single service account for all microservices with access to all secrets.
Why it's wrong here
Violates least privilege and separation of duties.
- ✗
Grant each service account the roles/secretmanager.admin role at the secret level.
Why it's wrong here
Admin role includes permission to modify, too permissive.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
In Google PCA, candidates often mistakenly apply predefined roles at the project level, assuming it provides sufficient isolation. However, granting `roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor` at the project level allows each service account to access all secrets in the project, violating the requirement for per-service isolation. The correct approach is to bind a custom role with only the `secrets.get` permission at the individual secret resource level, enabling fine-grained access control and logging.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Secret Manager IAM policies are evaluated at the resource level using a hierarchical model where project-level, folder-level, or organization-level policies can be overridden by resource-level bindings. When a custom role with only `secretmanager.versions.access` permission is bound to a specific secret, the service account can retrieve the secret payload via the `access` method but cannot list or modify secrets. In a real-world scenario, this architecture is critical for compliance with standards like SOC 2 or PCI DSS, where audit trails must show exactly which service accessed which secret, and least privilege must be enforced per workload.
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.
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 PCA question test?
Design for security and compliance — This question tests Design for security and compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create custom roles with secrets.get permission and bind to each service account at the individual secret resource. — Option A is correct because it follows the principle of least privilege by binding custom roles with the `secrets.get` permission at the individual secret resource level, ensuring each microservice can only access its own secrets. This also enables fine-grained access control and logging, as Secret Manager audit logs capture each access attempt per secret and service account. By using a custom role, you avoid granting unnecessary permissions like `list` or `create`, which are included in predefined roles.
What should I do if I get this PCA 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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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