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ACE Practice Question: A security review identifies that service account…
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of a security review identifies that service account…. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 security review identifies that service account JSON key files are stored on multiple developer laptops, posing a data exfiltration risk. What is the recommended remediation?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Store the key files in Secret Manager and retrieve them at application startup
Storing keys in Secret Manager reduces distribution risk but the key still exists and must be materialized at runtime — eliminating the key entirely is preferable.
B
Distractor review
Rotate the key files every 90 days and redistribute them securely
Rotating keys reduces the window of exposure but doesn't eliminate the risk — key files on developer laptops remain vulnerable to theft.
C
Distractor review
Encrypt the JSON key files using Cloud KMS before distributing
Encrypting keys before distribution adds a step but doesn't solve the core problem — the key material still exists on developer machines.
D
Best answer
Remove the key files and use service account impersonation or Workload Identity for workloads that need GCP access
Eliminating key files is the recommended approach. GCE VMs use attached service accounts; GKE uses Workload Identity; external systems use Workload Identity Federation — no downloadable keys needed.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Related practice questions
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Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
What is the correct order of the Google Cloud resource hierarchy from highest to lowest level?
Question 2
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Question 3
Which gcloud command creates a Compute Engine VM named 'web-01' using the e2-medium machine type in zone us-central1-a?
Question 4
A team wants to receive an email alert when the average CPU utilization of VMs in a managed instance group exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes. What should they create in Cloud Monitoring?
Question 5
A junior developer needs read-only access to all GCP resources in a project. Which IAM role grants the minimum permissions required?
Question 6
A startup creates its first Google Cloud project. Before deploying any paid resources, what must be linked to the project?
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Remove the key files and use service account impersonation or Workload Identity for workloads that need GCP access — Long-lived service account key files are one of the highest-risk authentication methods in GCP. The preferred approach is to eliminate keys entirely — use Workload Identity for GKE/Cloud Run, attach service accounts directly to GCE VMs, or use Workload Identity Federation for external workloads. Rotating keys or moving them to Secret Manager reduces distribution risk but doesn't eliminate the key's existence.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ACE NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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This ACE 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 ACE exam.