- A
roles/secretmanager.admin
Why wrong: Admin includes secret accessor, but is more permissive than needed.
- B
roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor
This role grants permission to access secret versions.
- C
roles/iam.serviceAccountUser
Why wrong: This role allows using a service account, not accessing secrets.
- D
roles/secretmanager.viewer
Why wrong: Viewer allows viewing secret metadata but not accessing the secret payload.
Question 765 of 985
PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring data protection. 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 data scientist needs to access a secret stored in Secret Manager from a Compute Engine VM. The VM has the default service account attached. Which IAM role should be granted to the service account to allow reading the secret?
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
✓
roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor
The correct role is roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor because it grants the specific permission secretmanager.versions.access required to read the secret payload from Secret Manager. The default Compute Engine service account needs only this minimal permission to retrieve the secret value, following the principle of least privilege.
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.
- ✗
roles/secretmanager.admin
Why it's wrong here
Admin includes secret accessor, but is more permissive than needed.
- ✓
roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor
Why this is correct
This role grants permission to access secret versions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
roles/iam.serviceAccountUser
Why it's wrong here
This role allows using a service account, not accessing secrets.
- ✗
roles/secretmanager.viewer
Why it's wrong here
Viewer allows viewing secret metadata but not accessing the secret payload.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between viewing metadata (roles/secretmanager.viewer) and accessing the actual secret value (roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor), causing candidates to mistakenly choose the viewer role for read access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Secret Manager uses IAM conditions and resource-level policies to control access; the secretmanager.versions.access permission is checked when the Compute Engine VM calls the Secret Manager API (e.g., via the Google Cloud SDK or client libraries). In a real-world scenario, if the VM needs to rotate secrets or create new versions, you would need roles/secretmanager.admin, but for a simple read at boot time, secretAccessor is sufficient and avoids exposing the ability to delete secrets.
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.
- →
Ensuring Data Protection — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCSE question test?
Ensuring Data Protection — This question tests Ensuring Data Protection — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor — The correct role is roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor because it grants the specific permission secretmanager.versions.access required to read the secret payload from Secret Manager. The default Compute Engine service account needs only this minimal permission to retrieve the secret value, following the principle of least privilege.
What should I do if I get this PCSE 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: Jul 4, 2026
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.
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