Google PCA Designing for Security and Compliance Practice Question
An organization needs to store secrets used by multiple GCP services. They require automatic rotation of secrets every 30 days and integration with Cloud Functions. Which service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests the difference between Cloud KMS (encryption keys) and Secret Manager (application secrets). Candidates may confuse the two, especially when rotation is mentioned, as KMS also supports rotation but for keys, not arbitrary secrets.
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
✓
Secret Manager
Secret Manager is a GCP service designed to store, manage, and access secrets such as API keys, passwords, and certificates. It supports automatic rotation of secrets via integration with Cloud Functions and other services, and provides versioning and audit logging.
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 HSM
Why it's wrong here
Cloud HSM provides hardware-backed key storage and cryptographic operations, not secret payload storage or scheduled rotation. It is tempting because it hardens key material, but the requirement for automatic 30-day rotation and Cloud Functions integration points to Secret Manager, which handles secret versions and rotation directly.
- ✗
Cloud KMS
Why it's wrong here
Cloud KMS manages encryption keys and performs cryptographic operations; it does not store secret payloads or rotate them on a schedule. It is tempting because both concern credentials, but automatic 30-day rotation with Cloud Functions integration is Secret Manager's role, not KMS's key lifecycle.
- ✗
Cloud Asset Inventory
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Asset Inventory catalogs and exports resource metadata; it neither stores secret values nor rotates them. It is tempting because it inventories GCP resources including secrets, but listing assets is unrelated to holding credentials, scheduling 30-day rotation, or serving secrets to Cloud Functions at runtime.
- ✓
Secret Manager
Why this is correct
Secret Manager stores credentials centrally and supports automatic rotation schedules, meeting the 30-day rotation requirement. Its native integration with Cloud Functions lets workloads retrieve secrets at runtime, satisfying the constraint that multiple GCP services consume the same secrets securely.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
IAM Policies, Service Accounts, and Auditing
Key term
Secret Manager
A Secret Manager is a centralized tool that securely stores, manages, and controls access to sensitive information like passwords, API keys, and certificates, often automating their rotation and injection into applications.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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One of 807 original PCA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.