This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of trust and security with google cloud. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company uses Cloud Load Balancing to distribute traffic to Compute Engine VMs. They want to protect against SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks. Which service should they enable?
Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)
Why wrong: IAP controls access, not attacks.
Cloud Armor
Cloud Armor includes WAF rules to block common web attacks.
Cloud CDN
Why wrong: CDN does not inspect traffic for malicious patterns.
VPC Service Controls
Why wrong: VPC Service Controls limit data movement, not web attacks.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cloud Armor
Cloud Armor is the correct service because it provides web application firewall (WAF) capabilities that can inspect HTTP/S traffic for malicious patterns, including SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) signatures. It integrates directly with Cloud Load Balancing to filter requests before they reach backend Compute Engine VMs, using pre-configured rules from the ModSecurity Core Rule Set (CRS) to block these common OWASP Top 10 threats.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)
Why it's wrong here
IAP controls access, not attacks.
Cloud Armor
Why this is correct
Cloud Armor includes WAF rules to block common web attacks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cloud CDN
Why it's wrong here
CDN does not inspect traffic for malicious patterns.
VPC Service Controls
Why it's wrong here
VPC Service Controls limit data movement, not web attacks.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) with a security filter for application-layer attacks, but IAP only authenticates and authorizes users, not inspects traffic for malicious payloads like SQL injection or XSS.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud Armor uses a rules engine that evaluates HTTP request attributes (e.g., headers, URI, body) against pre-configured WAF rules, including the OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set (CRS) version 3.x. It can also support custom rules using Common Expression Language (CEL) to match specific patterns, and it operates at the edge of Google's network, blocking malicious traffic before it reaches the load balancer or backend VMs. In a real-world scenario, a company might combine Cloud Armor with Cloud Load Balancing's 'security policy' to enforce rate limiting or geo-based access controls alongside WAF rules.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Trust and security with Google Cloud — This question tests Trust and security with Google Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Cloud Armor — Cloud Armor is the correct service because it provides web application firewall (WAF) capabilities that can inspect HTTP/S traffic for malicious patterns, including SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) signatures. It integrates directly with Cloud Load Balancing to filter requests before they reach backend Compute Engine VMs, using pre-configured rules from the ModSecurity Core Rule Set (CRS) to block these common OWASP Top 10 threats.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.
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