PCSE Practice Question: Managing Operations in a Cloud Solution Environment
A security engineer needs to ensure that all Google Cloud API calls in the organization are logged and retained for 7 years for compliance. Admin Activity logs are enabled by default but retention is limited. Which combination of actions should the engineer take?
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
✓
Create a log sink with _Required log view filter to export Admin Activity logs to Cloud Storage with a retention policy of 7 years.
Admin Activity logs are enabled by default but cannot be retained beyond the default period (400 days for audit logs). To retain for 7 years, you must use a log sink to export them to Cloud Storage (which can be configured with retention policies). BigQuery is for analysis, not archival. The default retention cannot be changed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a log sink with _Required log view filter to export Admin Activity logs to Cloud Storage with a retention policy of 7 years.
Why this is correct
The _Required log view includes Admin Activity logs. Exporting to Cloud Storage allows archiving with retention policies.
- ✗
Create a log sink to export Admin Activity logs to BigQuery and set the table expiration to 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery is for querying, not long-term archival at lower cost. Cloud Storage is more cost-effective for archival.
- ✗
Enable Data Access logs for all services and set a custom retention period of 7 years on the log bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Data Access logs are not needed for Admin Activity logs, and audit log retention cannot be extended beyond 400 days in Logging; you must export.
- ✗
Enable the 'Admin Activity logs' retention to 7 years in the Logging settings.
Why it's wrong here
Audit log retention cannot be changed; you must export logs to extend retention.
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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.