- A
roles/viewer
Why wrong: Does not include permission to view IAM policies.
- B
roles/iam.securityAdmin
Why wrong: Allows full management of IAM policies, including modifications.
- C
roles/iam.roleViewer
Why wrong: Only allows viewing custom role definitions, not IAM policy bindings.
- D
roles/iam.securityReviewer
Includes resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy and other read permissions for IAM.
Question 284 of 1,000
easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Using roles/iam.securityReviewer to View IAM Policies
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of pcse exam topics. 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 wants to grant a support team member the ability to view the IAM policy of a project (who has which roles) without being able to modify it. What is the least privileged predefined role that provides this access?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Quick Answer
The answer is roles/iam.securityReviewer. This predefined role grants read-only access to Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies across a project, allowing a user to view who has which roles and their associated permissions without any ability to modify them. It is the least privileged predefined role for this task because it is scoped exclusively to security-related read operations, excluding broader read permissions like those in roles/viewer. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this question tests your understanding of IAM role granularity and the principle of least privilege; a common trap is confusing roles/iam.securityReviewer with roles/viewer, which also provides read access but includes non-security resources like Compute Engine listings. Remember the mnemonic: “Reviewer reads roles, Viewer views everything else.”
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
✓
roles/iam.securityReviewer
The roles/iam.securityReviewer role grants read-only access to IAM policies and permissions across the project, including the ability to view who has which roles, without allowing modifications. This is the least privileged predefined role that provides exactly this access, as it is scoped to security-related read operations only.
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.
- ✗
roles/viewer
Why it's wrong here
Does not include permission to view IAM policies.
- ✗
roles/iam.securityAdmin
Why it's wrong here
Allows full management of IAM policies, including modifications.
- ✗
roles/iam.roleViewer
Why it's wrong here
Only allows viewing custom role definitions, not IAM policy bindings.
- ✓
roles/iam.securityReviewer
Why this is correct
Includes resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy and other read permissions for IAM.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between viewing role definitions (roles/iam.roleViewer) and viewing actual IAM policy bindings (roles/iam.securityReviewer), causing candidates to confuse the two.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, IAM policies are stored as a set of bindings between principals and roles, and the securityReviewer role includes the iam.roles.list and iam.roles.get permissions for role definitions, plus the resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy permission to read the project-level policy. In a real-world scenario, a security auditor might be granted this role to review access controls without risking accidental changes, while a viewer role would also grant access to other resources like Compute Engine instances, which is unnecessary and violates least privilege.
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 PCSE question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: roles/iam.securityReviewer — The roles/iam.securityReviewer role grants read-only access to IAM policies and permissions across the project, including the ability to view who has which roles, without allowing modifications. This is the least privileged predefined role that provides exactly this access, as it is scoped to security-related read operations only.
What should I do if I get this PCSE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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