easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PCSE Practice Question: Is tasked with automating the remediation of…
A security engineer is tasked with automating the remediation of non-compliant resources in a Google Cloud organization. The organization uses Organization Policy Service to enforce constraints. The engineer needs to automatically disable a specific service (e.g., Compute Engine API) for a project that violates a policy. Which Google Cloud service should be used to trigger this remediation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between event-driven (Cloud Functions) and scheduled (Cloud Scheduler) or compute (Cloud Run) services, trapping candidates who confuse scheduled tasks with real-time remediation triggers.
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
✓
Cloud Functions
Cloud Functions is correct because it can be triggered by real-time event notifications (e.g., from Cloud Asset Inventory or Pub/Sub) when a policy violation is detected, and then execute custom code to disable the Compute Engine API via the Service Usage API. This serverless, event-driven model is ideal for automated remediation workflows without managing infrastructure.
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 Build
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Build is for building and deploying, not for real-time remediation.
- ✗
Cloud Run
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run is for running containers, not typically used for event-driven remediation without additional components.
- ✗
Cloud Scheduler
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Scheduler is for cron jobs, not event-driven triggers from policy violations.
- ✓
Cloud Functions
Why this is correct
Cloud Functions can be triggered by logs or Pub/Sub messages to perform automated remediation actions.
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.