- A
Cloud Armor — it blocks unauthorized container images at the load balancer.
Why wrong: Cloud Armor is a WAF/DDoS protection service at the HTTP layer. It doesn't inspect or validate container images at deployment time.
- B
Binary Authorization — requiring cryptographic attestations for container images before they can be deployed to GKE.
Binary Authorization enforces that only images with valid attestations (created by the approved CI/CD pipeline using Cloud KMS keys) can be deployed to GKE. Unsigned or externally built images are blocked at admission.
- C
Cloud IAM — restricting `container.pods.create` permission to only the CI/CD service account.
Why wrong: IAM can restrict who creates pods, but engineers with deployment permissions could still deploy manually-built images. Binary Authorization enforces image provenance regardless of who initiates the deployment.
- D
Artifact Registry vulnerability scanning — blocking images with CVEs from being deployed.
Why wrong: Vulnerability scanning detects known CVEs and can block deploying vulnerable images. Binary Authorization specifically enforces build pipeline provenance (was this image built by the approved process?), not vulnerability status.
Quick Answer
The answer is Binary Authorization, which enforces that only approved container images run in GKE by requiring a cryptographic attestation before deployment. This works because Binary Authorization integrates with your CI/CD pipeline to sign images after they pass your build process; when a pod is scheduled, the GKE cluster checks for a valid attestation from a trusted authority, blocking any unsigned or improperly signed images—even those built by internal engineers. On the Google Cloud Digital Leader exam, this scenario tests your understanding of deployment-time security controls versus build-time scanning, and a common trap is confusing Binary Authorization with Container Analysis or Artifact Registry vulnerability scanning. To remember, think “Binary = Block or Allow based on a digital signature,” and recall the mnemonic “Sign to Deploy” for how attestations gate your GKE workloads.
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. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 only container images built by their approved CI/CD pipeline can run in their GKE cluster. Images built outside the approved process — even by internal engineers — should be blocked. Which Google Cloud security feature enforces 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
Binary Authorization — requiring cryptographic attestations for container images before they can be deployed to GKE.
Binary Authorization is the correct answer because it enforces deployment-time policy by requiring that container images have a valid cryptographic attestation (e.g., from a trusted CI/CD pipeline) before they can be scheduled on GKE. This ensures that only images built and signed by the approved process are allowed to run, blocking all others regardless of who built them.
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.
- ✗
Cloud Armor — it blocks unauthorized container images at the load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Armor is a WAF/DDoS protection service at the HTTP layer. It doesn't inspect or validate container images at deployment time.
- ✓
Binary Authorization — requiring cryptographic attestations for container images before they can be deployed to GKE.
Why this is correct
Binary Authorization enforces that only images with valid attestations (created by the approved CI/CD pipeline using Cloud KMS keys) can be deployed to GKE. Unsigned or externally built images are blocked at admission.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud IAM — restricting `container.pods.create` permission to only the CI/CD service account.
Why it's wrong here
IAM can restrict who creates pods, but engineers with deployment permissions could still deploy manually-built images. Binary Authorization enforces image provenance regardless of who initiates the deployment.
- ✗
Artifact Registry vulnerability scanning — blocking images with CVEs from being deployed.
Why it's wrong here
Vulnerability scanning detects known CVEs and can block deploying vulnerable images. Binary Authorization specifically enforces build pipeline provenance (was this image built by the approved process?), not vulnerability status.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse access control (IAM) with image provenance enforcement, mistakenly thinking that restricting who can create pods (Option C) is sufficient to block unauthorized images, when in reality a CI/CD service account could still deploy an unsigned image if not prevented by Binary Authorization.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Binary Authorization integrates with GKE via the Binary Authorization API and uses an admission webhook that intercepts pod creation requests. It validates that the image's digest has a valid attestation signed by a trusted authority (e.g., using KMS or PGP keys) and checks the policy (e.g., require attestation for all images, or allow only images from specific registries). Under the hood, the attestation is stored as a Cloud Storage object or in Artifact Registry, and the policy is evaluated before the pod is scheduled, ensuring that even if an image is pushed to a registry, it cannot run without the required cryptographic proof.
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 GCDL question test?
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: Binary Authorization — requiring cryptographic attestations for container images before they can be deployed to GKE. — Binary Authorization is the correct answer because it enforces deployment-time policy by requiring that container images have a valid cryptographic attestation (e.g., from a trusted CI/CD pipeline) before they can be scheduled on GKE. This ensures that only images built and signed by the approved process are allowed to run, blocking all others regardless of who built them.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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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