PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
A security engineer needs to store database credentials and API keys securely in GCP. The solution must support automatic rotation of secrets at a defined schedule and trigger a Cloud Function after each rotation to update dependent applications. Which service should they use?
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 supports versioning, IAM access, and automatic rotation with Pub/Sub notifications. Cloud Functions can subscribe to the Pub/Sub topic to perform post-rotation tasks. Cloud KMS manages keys, not secrets. Cloud DLP is for data loss prevention. Cloud Storage is not designed for secret management with rotation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Secret Manager
Why this is correct
Secret Manager stores secrets, supports automatic rotation with Pub/Sub notifications to trigger Cloud Functions.
- ✗
Cloud KMS
Why it's wrong here
Cloud KMS manages cryptographic keys, not secrets like passwords or API keys.
- ✗
Cloud DLP
Why it's wrong here
Cloud DLP is for inspecting and de-identifying sensitive data, not for storing secrets.
- ✗
Cloud Storage
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Storage is object storage; not designed for secret management with rotation and access auditing.
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.