- A
Grant the service account only the specific roles its application requires — omitting IAM admin roles
IAM permissions are additive — not granting `iam.serviceAccountAdmin` and `resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin` naturally prevents the service account from performing those actions. Least privilege is the approach.
- B
Create an IAM deny policy blocking iam.serviceAccounts.create and iam.projects.setIamPolicy for the service account
Why wrong: IAM deny policies can enforce this, but they're typically used for exceptions to existing allow policies — not granting the role in the first place is simpler and more maintainable.
- C
Set an organization policy constraint restricting service account creation to admin users only
Why wrong: Organization policies apply broadly — they'd restrict all users, not just this specific service account. Least-privilege IAM bindings are more targeted.
- D
Disable the IAM API for the project so service accounts cannot manage IAM
Why wrong: Disabling the IAM API would break all IAM operations including normal authentication — not a viable security control.
Quick Answer
The answer is to grant the service account only the specific roles its application requires, deliberately omitting any IAM admin roles. This is correct because the principle of least privilege dictates that a service account should never receive permissions it does not need; by excluding roles like roles/iam.serviceAccountAdmin or roles/resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin, you inherently restrict the service account from creating other service accounts or modifying IAM policies without needing complex deny rules. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of IAM role assignment versus deny policies—a common trap is assuming you need a custom deny policy when simply omitting broad admin roles is the intended solution. Remember the memory tip: "If it doesn't need the key, don't give it the lock"—only assign roles that match the application's exact function, and IAM admin roles will never be included.
Google ACE Configuring access and security Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access and security. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 team wants to ensure that a service account created for an application cannot create new service accounts or modify IAM policies within the project. Which IAM role restriction achieves this?
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
Grant the service account only the specific roles its application requires — omitting IAM admin roles
Option A is correct because the principle of least privilege dictates that a service account should only be granted the specific roles required for its application's functionality. By deliberately omitting roles that include IAM administrative permissions (such as roles/iam.serviceAccountAdmin or roles/iam.serviceAccountUser with the iam.serviceAccounts.create permission, or roles/resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin), the service account is inherently restricted from creating new service accounts or modifying IAM policies. This approach avoids the complexity of deny policies and aligns with Google Cloud's recommended IAM best practices.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Grant the service account only the specific roles its application requires — omitting IAM admin roles
Why this is correct
IAM permissions are additive — not granting `iam.serviceAccountAdmin` and `resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin` naturally prevents the service account from performing those actions. Least privilege is the approach.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create an IAM deny policy blocking iam.serviceAccounts.create and iam.projects.setIamPolicy for the service account
Why it's wrong here
IAM deny policies can enforce this, but they're typically used for exceptions to existing allow policies — not granting the role in the first place is simpler and more maintainable.
- ✗
Set an organization policy constraint restricting service account creation to admin users only
Why it's wrong here
Organization policies apply broadly — they'd restrict all users, not just this specific service account. Least-privilege IAM bindings are more targeted.
- ✗
Disable the IAM API for the project so service accounts cannot manage IAM
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the IAM API would break all IAM operations including normal authentication — not a viable security control.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the principle of least privilege by presenting complex alternatives like deny policies or organization constraints, but the simplest and most correct answer is to grant only the necessary roles, which inherently prevents unauthorized IAM administration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, IAM roles are collections of permissions; for example, the iam.serviceAccounts.create permission is included in roles like roles/iam.serviceAccountAdmin and roles/iam.serviceAccountCreator, while modifying IAM policies requires permissions like resourcemanager.projects.setIamPolicy (found in roles/owner or roles/resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin). By granting only application-specific roles (e.g., roles/storage.objectViewer, roles/bigquery.dataViewer), the service account's effective permissions are limited to those exact actions, and any attempt to call the IAM API methods (e.g., projects.serviceAccounts.create or projects.setIamPolicy) will be denied by default. This is a fundamental application of Google Cloud's default-deny IAM model, where access is granted only through explicit role bindings.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Configuring access and security — This question tests Configuring access and security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant the service account only the specific roles its application requires — omitting IAM admin roles — Option A is correct because the principle of least privilege dictates that a service account should only be granted the specific roles required for its application's functionality. By deliberately omitting roles that include IAM administrative permissions (such as roles/iam.serviceAccountAdmin or roles/iam.serviceAccountUser with the iam.serviceAccounts.create permission, or roles/resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin), the service account is inherently restricted from creating new service accounts or modifying IAM policies. This approach avoids the complexity of deny policies and aligns with Google Cloud's recommended IAM best practices.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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