PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
A company must store API keys and database credentials securely in Google Cloud. They need automatic rotation of these secrets every 30 days, with notifications sent to a security team after each rotation. Which services should they use? (Choose TWO).
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 provides a native API for storing secrets and supports automatic rotation via a rotation period and Pub/Sub notifications. Cloud Functions can be triggered by the Pub/Sub message to perform any additional actions (e.g., updating applications). Cloud KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets. Cloud Scheduler can trigger manual rotation but is not required with automatic rotation. Compute Engine is not a service for secrets management.
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 Scheduler
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Scheduler is not needed when using Secret Manager's built-in rotation.
- ✓
Secret Manager
Why this is correct
Secret Manager is the correct service for storing API keys and credentials with built-in automatic rotation and Pub/Sub notifications.
- ✗
Compute Engine
Why it's wrong here
Compute Engine is a VM service, not a secrets management service.
- ✓
Cloud Functions
Why this is correct
Cloud Functions can be triggered by Pub/Sub messages from Secret Manager rotation to notify the security team.
- ✗
Cloud KMS
Why it's wrong here
Cloud KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets like API keys.
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 |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.