- A
Grant the predefined roles/compute.viewer role to the service account at the folder level.
Why wrong: Incorrect: roles/compute.viewer is read-only and does not allow start/stop/create.
- B
Use Cloud IAP to tunnel into Compute Engine instances to perform management tasks.
Why wrong: Incorrect: IAP is for access to instances via SSH/RDP, not for granting API permissions.
- C
Use IAM Conditions to restrict the service account's access to only the required projects or resources.
Correct: IAM Conditions can limit access to specific projects when granting roles at a higher level.
- D
Grant the predefined roles/compute.admin role to the service account at the organization level.
Why wrong: Incorrect: roles/compute.admin grants full control over Compute Engine, violating least privilege.
- E
Create a custom IAM role with compute.instances.start, compute.instances.stop, and compute.instances.create permissions and assign it to the service account at the project level.
Correct: Custom roles allow restricting to specific permissions, and project-level grant limits scope.
Quick Answer
The answer is to create a custom IAM role with the specific compute.instances permissions and assign it at the project level, then apply an IAM condition to restrict that role to the target set of projects. This is correct because IAM conditions allow you to enforce attribute-based access control, limiting the service account’s scope to only the designated projects rather than all projects in the folder or organization, directly supporting the principle of least privilege. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how IAM conditions work as a resource-level constraint separate from role binding—a common trap is assuming a folder-level role with a condition is sufficient, but the condition must be paired with a project-level binding to avoid granting permissions broadly. Remember the mnemonic “Bind and Condition, not just Position”: the binding level (project) and the condition (project IDs) must work together to truly restrict scope.
PCSE Practice Question: Configuring access within a cloud solution environment
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access within a cloud solution environment. 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 company needs to grant a service account the ability to manage Compute Engine instances (start, stop, create) in a specific set of projects. The administrator wants to follow the principle of least privilege. Which TWO steps should the administrator take? (Choose TWO.)
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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
Use IAM Conditions to restrict the service account's access to only the required projects or resources.
Option C is correct because IAM Conditions allow the administrator to restrict the service account's permissions to a specific set of projects or resources, enforcing least privilege by limiting the scope of the granted role. This ensures the service account can only manage Compute Engine instances in the designated projects, not all projects in the folder or organization.
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.
- ✗
Grant the predefined roles/compute.viewer role to the service account at the folder level.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: roles/compute.viewer is read-only and does not allow start/stop/create.
- ✗
Use Cloud IAP to tunnel into Compute Engine instances to perform management tasks.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: IAP is for access to instances via SSH/RDP, not for granting API permissions.
- ✓
Use IAM Conditions to restrict the service account's access to only the required projects or resources.
Why this is correct
Correct: IAM Conditions can limit access to specific projects when granting roles at a higher level.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Grant the predefined roles/compute.admin role to the service account at the organization level.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: roles/compute.admin grants full control over Compute Engine, violating least privilege.
- ✓
Create a custom IAM role with compute.instances.start, compute.instances.stop, and compute.instances.create permissions and assign it to the service account at the project level.
Why this is correct
Correct: Custom roles allow restricting to specific permissions, and project-level grant limits scope.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
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 distinction between IAM Conditions and folder/organization-level roles, where candidates mistakenly choose broad roles like compute.admin at the organization level instead of using conditions or custom roles to scope permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM Conditions use the Common Expression Language (CEL) to evaluate attributes like resource.name or resource.service, enabling fine-grained access control without creating multiple custom roles. For example, a condition can restrict compute.instances.start to instances with a specific label or in a particular project, which is more scalable than managing separate roles per project. In real-world scenarios, this prevents a service account from accidentally modifying resources in production projects when it only needs access to development projects.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCSE question test?
Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — This question tests Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use IAM Conditions to restrict the service account's access to only the required projects or resources. — Option C is correct because IAM Conditions allow the administrator to restrict the service account's permissions to a specific set of projects or resources, enforcing least privilege by limiting the scope of the granted role. This ensures the service account can only manage Compute Engine instances in the designated projects, not all projects in the folder or organization.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 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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