PCSE Workload Identity Federation Practice Question
A company wants to allow an application running in an on-premises data center to access Google Cloud Storage buckets without storing long-lived service account keys. The on-premises application authenticates using an external identity provider (IdP) that supports OpenID Connect (OIDC). Which Google Cloud feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mistake in the Google PCSE exam is to assume that network connectivity solutions like Cloud VPN or proxies are sufficient for authentication and authorization. However, the question requires identity-based access without static keys, which only workload identity federation provides.
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 federation to exchange OIDC tokens for Google Cloud tokens
Workload identity federation allows the on-premises application to exchange OIDC tokens from the external IdP for short-lived Google Cloud access tokens, eliminating the need to store long-lived service account keys. This directly meets the requirement of accessing Cloud Storage buckets without managing static credentials.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Cloud VPN to connect the on-premises network and access Cloud Storage via private IP
Why it's wrong here
Cloud VPN provides network connectivity but does not provide authentication; credentials are still needed.
- ✗
Configure a VPN between on-premises and Google Cloud and use a Compute Engine instance as a proxy
Why it's wrong here
This adds complexity and does not address avoiding long-lived keys; the application would still need credentials.
- ✗
Create a service account key and store it securely on-premises
Why it's wrong here
The requirement is to avoid storing long-lived keys; this option goes against that.
- ✓
Use workload identity federation to exchange OIDC tokens for Google Cloud tokens
Why this is correct
Workload identity federation enables keyless access from external workloads by federating with external IdPs.
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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.