The correct IAM configuration is to grant the Compute Security Admin role to the service project’s service accounts at the host project level. This works because in a Shared VPC model, the host project owns the network and all firewall rules are resources within that host project; service projects merely consume the network. The Compute Security Admin role includes the compute.firewalls.create permission, which is the minimum privilege needed to create firewall rules without granting broader network admin rights like modifying routes or subnets. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of IAM delegation across project boundaries and the principle of least privilege—a common trap is assuming you need to grant roles in the service project itself, which would have no effect on host project resources. Remember the key distinction: the host project owns the resource, so the role must be granted there. Memory tip: “Host owns the rule, host grants the role.”
PCSE Configuring network security Practice Question
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring network security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 uses Shared VPC with host project and service projects. They want to ensure that only specific service projects can create firewall rules in the host project's network. What is the correct IAM configuration?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Grant the Compute Security Admin role to the service project's service accounts in the host project.
In a Shared VPC setup, the host project owns the network, and service projects connect to it. To allow a service project to create firewall rules in the host project's network, you must grant the Compute Security Admin role (which includes compute.firewalls.create) to the service project's service accounts at the host project level. This grants the necessary permissions on the host project's resources without giving broader network administration rights.
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 Compute Security Admin role to the service project's compute service account in the service project.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: role must be granted in host project for host network.
✗
Grant the Compute Network Admin role to the service project's service accounts in the host project.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Network Admin can list but not create firewall rules.
✓
Grant the Compute Security Admin role to the service project's service accounts in the host project.
Why this is correct
Correct: allows managing firewall rules in the shared VPC.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a custom role with compute.firewalls.create and grant it to the host project's compute service account.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: the service account in host project doesn't need the role; service project accounts do.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between granting roles in the host project versus the service project, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly think the Compute Network Admin role is required for firewall rule creation, when in fact Compute Security Admin is the correct, more restrictive role.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Compute Security Admin role (roles/compute.securityAdmin) includes permissions like compute.firewalls.create, compute.firewalls.update, and compute.firewalls.delete, but excludes broader network management permissions such as compute.networks.create or compute.subnetworks.use. In a Shared VPC, IAM policies on the host project apply to all service projects attached to it, so granting this role to a service project's service account (e.g., the Google-managed service account or a custom one) at the host project level allows that service project to manage firewall rules in the shared VPC network. A common real-world scenario is a multi-tenant environment where each service project team needs to manage its own firewall rules without being able to alter the underlying VPC topology.
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.
Configuring network security — This question tests Configuring network security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant the Compute Security Admin role to the service project's service accounts in the host project. — In a Shared VPC setup, the host project owns the network, and service projects connect to it. To allow a service project to create firewall rules in the host project's network, you must grant the Compute Security Admin role (which includes compute.firewalls.create) to the service project's service accounts at the host project level. This grants the necessary permissions on the host project's resources without giving broader network administration rights.
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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Question Discussion
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