Cloud Digital Leader Trust and security with Google Cloud Practice Question
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 security engineer notices that a Compute Engine instance is running a VM with a public IP that should not be accessible from the internet. They want to ensure this configuration is prevented by default for all future projects in the organization. What should they do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Define an Organization Policy with the constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess
Option B is correct because Organization Policies in Google Cloud allow you to set constraints at the organization, folder, or project level to enforce security controls. The `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` constraint specifically prevents VMs from being created with external IP addresses, ensuring that no future Compute Engine instances in the organization can have public IPs by default. This is a preventive control that applies to all new VM creations, unlike IAM policies or firewall rules which are more granular or reactive.
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.
✗
Set an IAM policy to deny compute.instances.create with public IP
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies can't directly prevent public IP assignment; they control who can create instances.
✓
Define an Organization Policy with the constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess
Why this is correct
This organization policy restricts public IP assignment on VMs across the organization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a VPC firewall rule to deny all traffic from the internet to the VM
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules are reactive, not preventive. The VM still has public IP.
✗
Use Cloud Security Scanner to identify and remediate
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Security Scanner is for web app vulnerabilities, not configuration enforcement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM policies with Organization Policies, thinking that IAM can restrict resource configurations (like public IPs) when it only controls who can perform actions, not the attributes of the resources created.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` constraint is a list constraint that can be set to `Deny All` or allow only specific VMs (by instance name) to have external IPs. Under the hood, it uses Google Cloud's Organization Policy Service to evaluate the constraint at resource creation time, rejecting the API call if the VM would be assigned an external IP. This is more robust than IAM conditions because it operates at the resource hierarchy level and cannot be bypassed by users with higher IAM roles, ensuring consistent enforcement across all projects in the organization.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this GCDL question in full detail.
Trust and security with Google Cloud — This question tests Trust and security with Google Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Define an Organization Policy with the constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess — Option B is correct because Organization Policies in Google Cloud allow you to set constraints at the organization, folder, or project level to enforce security controls. The `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` constraint specifically prevents VMs from being created with external IP addresses, ensuring that no future Compute Engine instances in the organization can have public IPs by default. This is a preventive control that applies to all new VM creations, unlike IAM policies or firewall rules which are more granular or reactive.
What should I do if I get this GCDL 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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Question Discussion
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