The answer is Admin Activity audit logs. These logs are enabled by default in Google Cloud because they capture all administrator actions that modify resource configurations or metadata, such as creating a VM or altering IAM policies, making them essential for tracking "who did what, where, and when" for management activities. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this tests your understanding of the default audit log types and their immutability—Admin Activity logs cannot be disabled, unlike Data Access logs which require explicit enablement. A common trap is confusing Admin Activity logs with Data Access logs; remember that only management-plane actions are logged by default, not data-plane reads. For a memory tip, think "Admin is Always Active"—Admin Activity logs are always on and cannot be turned off.
PCSE Supporting compliance requirements Practice Question
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of supporting compliance requirements. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Which Google Cloud audit log captures administrator activity and is enabled by default?
Why wrong: Policy Denied audit logs record denied requests but are not the default admin activity log.
B
System Event audit logs
Why wrong: System Event audit logs record actions by Google systems, not administrator actions, and are enabled by default but not the primary admin log.
C
Data Access audit logs
Why wrong: Data Access audit logs are not enabled by default; they must be explicitly configured.
D
Admin Activity audit logs
Admin Activity audit logs are enabled by default and track API calls that modify resources.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Admin Activity audit logs
Admin Activity audit logs (option D) are enabled by default in Google Cloud and capture all administrator actions that modify the configuration or metadata of resources, such as creating a VM or changing IAM policies. These logs are essential for compliance and security auditing because they record 'who did what, where, and when' for management activities, and they cannot be disabled.
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.
✗
Policy Denied audit logs
Why it's wrong here
Policy Denied audit logs record denied requests but are not the default admin activity log.
✗
System Event audit logs
Why it's wrong here
System Event audit logs record actions by Google systems, not administrator actions, and are enabled by default but not the primary admin log.
✗
Data Access audit logs
Why it's wrong here
Data Access audit logs are not enabled by default; they must be explicitly configured.
✓
Admin Activity audit logs
Why this is correct
Admin Activity audit logs are enabled by default and track API calls that modify resources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that all audit logs are enabled by default, but only Admin Activity and System Event logs are default-enabled, while Data Access logs are not, leading candidates to incorrectly choose Data Access audit logs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Admin Activity logs are written to the `_Required` log bucket in Cloud Logging and are immutable for 400 days by default, using the `cloudaudit.googleapis.com/activity` log type. A real-world scenario: if a security admin needs to investigate who deleted a critical Cloud SQL instance, they would query Admin Activity logs because those logs capture the `google.cloud.sql.instances.delete` API call with the authenticated principal, even if Data Access logs are disabled.
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.
Supporting compliance requirements — This question tests Supporting compliance requirements — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Admin Activity audit logs — Admin Activity audit logs (option D) are enabled by default in Google Cloud and capture all administrator actions that modify the configuration or metadata of resources, such as creating a VM or changing IAM policies. These logs are essential for compliance and security auditing because they record 'who did what, where, and when' for management activities, and they cannot be disabled.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.