Google PCA Designing for Security and Compliance Practice Question
A company wants to allow a Kubernetes pod in GKE to access a Cloud Storage bucket using a specific service account without storing long-lived credentials. Which method should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests the misconception that mounting service account keys is acceptable, but the exam emphasizes keyless authentication via Workload Identity.
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 Workload Identity to bind the Kubernetes service account to a Google Cloud service account
Workload Identity is the recommended way to allow a Kubernetes pod in GKE to access Google Cloud services like Cloud Storage using a specific service account without long-lived credentials. It binds a Kubernetes service account to a Google Cloud service account, and the pod uses the Kubernetes service account to obtain short-lived credentials via the GKE metadata server. This eliminates the need for JSON keys.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assign the service account directly to the GKE node pool
Why it's wrong here
Node-pool service accounts grant every pod on the node the same identity, so the pod cannot use its specific service account. It is tempting for node-level image pulls, but Workload Identity is required to bind a Kubernetes service account to a Google service account per pod.
- ✗
Create a JSON key for a service account and mount it as a secret in the pod
Why it's wrong here
JSON keys are long-lived credentials, directly violating the requirement. It is tempting because mounting a key secret is the classic non-GKE approach, but Workload Identity federates pod identity to a Google service account, issuing short-lived tokens with no stored key.
- ✓
Use Workload Identity to bind the Kubernetes service account to a Google Cloud service account
Why this is correct
Workload Identity federates a Kubernetes service account with a Google Cloud service account via the cluster's workload identity pool, issuing short-lived tokens. The pod therefore accesses Cloud Storage without any long-lived service account key stored in the cluster.
- ✗
Use Application Default Credentials on the pod
Why it's wrong here
Application Default Credentials only defines the lookup order for credentials; it does not supply pod-specific identity without a key file or metadata binding. It is tempting as the client-library default, but Workload Identity is what actually maps the Kubernetes service account to the Google service account.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
IAM Policies, Service Accounts, and Auditing
Key term
Workload Identity
A workload identity is a digital credential assigned to an application, service, or automated process that proves its identity to other systems without requiring a human user to log in.
Key term
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is a service that lets you save data on remote servers accessed over the internet instead of on your computer's hard drive.
About these practice questions
This PCA question is part of Courseiva's 807-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 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.