This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design for security and compliance. 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 data engineer needs to analyze data in BigQuery but must mask personally identifiable information (PII) based on user roles. Which service should they use?
BigQuery column-level security
BigQuery column-level security with data masking can restrict PII based on roles.
Cloud Key Management Service
Why wrong: KMS is for encryption keys, not data masking.
Cloud Data Catalog
Why wrong: Data Catalog is for metadata management.
Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why wrong: DLP can classify but for runtime masking, BigQuery's own feature is needed.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
BigQuery column-level security
BigQuery column-level security with data masking allows conditional masking. Option A provides classification but not role-based masking. Option B is for tokenization but not integrated with BigQuery. Option D is for data catalog.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
BigQuery column-level security
Why this is correct
BigQuery column-level security with data masking can restrict PII based on roles.
Related concept
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
Cloud Key Management Service
Why it's wrong here
KMS is for encryption keys, not data masking.
Cloud Data Catalog
Why it's wrong here
Data Catalog is for metadata management.
Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why it's wrong here
DLP can classify but for runtime masking, BigQuery's own feature is needed.
Common exam traps
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
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
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related PCA subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
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FAQ
Design for security and compliance — This question tests Design for security and compliance — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
The correct answer is: BigQuery column-level security — BigQuery column-level security with data masking allows conditional masking. Option A provides classification but not role-based masking. Option B is for tokenization but not integrated with BigQuery. Option D is for data catalog.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related PCA subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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