Quick Answer
The answer is roles/iam.securityReviewer. This predefined role grants read-only access to Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies across a project, allowing a user to view who has which roles and their associated permissions without any ability to modify them. It is the least privileged predefined role for this task because it is scoped exclusively to security-related read operations, excluding broader read permissions like those in roles/viewer. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this question tests your understanding of IAM role granularity and the principle of least privilege; a common trap is confusing roles/iam.securityReviewer with roles/viewer, which also provides read access but includes non-security resources like Compute Engine listings. Remember the mnemonic: “Reviewer reads roles, Viewer views everything else.”
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 wants to grant a support team member the ability to view the IAM policy of a project (who has which roles) without being able to modify it. What is the least privileged predefined role that provides this access?
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.
roles/viewer
Why wrong: Does not include permission to view IAM policies.
roles/iam.securityAdmin
Why wrong: Allows full management of IAM policies, including modifications.
roles/iam.roleViewer
Why wrong: Only allows viewing custom role definitions, not IAM policy bindings.
roles/iam.securityReviewer
Includes resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy and other read permissions for IAM.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
roles/iam.securityReviewer
The roles/iam.securityReviewer role grants read-only access to IAM policies and permissions across the project, including the ability to view who has which roles, without allowing modifications. This is the least privileged predefined role that provides exactly this access, as it is scoped to security-related read operations only.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
roles/viewer
Why it's wrong here
Does not include permission to view IAM policies.
roles/iam.securityAdmin
Why it's wrong here
Allows full management of IAM policies, including modifications.
roles/iam.roleViewer
Why it's wrong here
Only allows viewing custom role definitions, not IAM policy bindings.
roles/iam.securityReviewer
Why this is correct
Includes resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy and other read permissions for IAM.
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
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between viewing role definitions (roles/iam.roleViewer) and viewing actual IAM policy bindings (roles/iam.securityReviewer), causing candidates to confuse the two.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, IAM policies are stored as a set of bindings between principals and roles, and the securityReviewer role includes the iam.roles.list and iam.roles.get permissions for role definitions, plus the resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy permission to read the project-level policy. In a real-world scenario, a security auditor might be granted this role to review access controls without risking accidental changes, while a viewer role would also grant access to other resources like Compute Engine instances, which is unnecessary and violates least privilege.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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
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
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..
The correct answer is: roles/iam.securityReviewer — The roles/iam.securityReviewer role grants read-only access to IAM policies and permissions across the project, including the ability to view who has which roles, without allowing modifications. This is the least privileged predefined role that provides exactly this access, as it is scoped to security-related read operations only.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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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