PDE Storing the Data Practice Question
A media company stores 900 TB of video master files in a Cloud Storage bucket in the US multi-region. Legal requires that the objects be retained for seven years and cannot be deleted or overwritten by any user, including project owners, during that period. The company also wants to minimize storage cost for objects that are rarely accessed after the first 90 days. The data engineer must implement a compliant configuration. (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is believing that IAM roles or object holds alone satisfy a legal WORM requirement, when only a locked retention policy makes deletion impossible for everyone.
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
✓
Add an Object Lifecycle Management rule that transitions objects to Coldline storage 90 days after creation.
A locked retention policy is the only Cloud Storage mechanism that prevents even project owners from deleting or overwriting objects, providing the required WORM guarantee for seven years. Pairing it with a lifecycle transition to Coldline after 90 days meets the cost objective because Coldline targets infrequently accessed data without conflicting with retention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set the bucket's default storage class to Standard and rely on the multi-region location for durability.
Why it's wrong here
Standard class is the most expensive for rarely accessed data and does nothing to meet the WORM retention requirement. Multi-region location improves availability and durability but does not prevent deletion or overwriting. This option addresses neither the legal retention nor the cost goal.
- ✗
Enable Uniform bucket-level access and grant the storage.objectViewer role to analysts.
Why it's wrong here
Uniform bucket-level access simplifies permission management, and objectViewer allows reads, but neither prevents deletion or overwriting by project owners. IAM permissions are removable and do not create an immutable retention guarantee. This option addresses access control, not the legal retention or cost requirements.
- ✓
Add an Object Lifecycle Management rule that transitions objects to Coldline storage 90 days after creation.
Why this is correct
Coldline is designed for data accessed less than once a quarter, so transitioning the rarely accessed video masters after 90 days lowers storage cost while still allowing reads. Lifecycle rules run automatically and do not conflict with the retention policy, so this satisfies the cost requirement.
- ✓
Apply a bucket lock on a retention policy that sets the retention period to seven years.
Why this is correct
A retention policy with a bucket lock prevents any user, including project owners, from deleting or overwriting objects until the retention period expires. Locking the policy makes it permanent and irreversible, which satisfies the legal WORM requirement for the full seven years, so this is required for compliance.
- ✗
Add a lifecycle rule that deletes objects 90 days after creation to control cost.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting objects after 90 days directly violates the seven-year legal retention requirement. Even with a retention policy in place, a delete rule would be blocked by the policy, so it could never succeed and would only create confusion. It also fails the cost goal because data must remain retained.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
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