Google Professional-Cloud-Security-Engineer Exam With Confidence Using Practice Dumps

The problem is the detection of secrets (sensitive data patterns) within the environment variables of deployed resources (Cloud Functions) in a timely, automated manner.

Sensitive Data Protection (SDP), formerly Cloud DLP, is the purpose-built Google Cloud service for scanning and classifying sensitive data patterns. It can be configured to scan code, configuration, or environment variables and integrate its findings directly with Security Command Center (SCC).

Extracts:

"Sensitive Data Protection provides highly configurable, automated detection of sensitive data, including API keys, passwords, and other credentials, using both pre-built and custom infoTypes." (Source 8.1)

"SDP can be integrated with Cloud Functions and other resource configurations to scan environment variables or configuration files for secrets. Violations can be automatically routed to Security Command Center as findings." (Source 8.2)

Option D (DAST) scans the application code or running application logic, but the requirement specifies the secrets are in the environment variables, which are part of the configuration/deployment metadata, making SDP the correct detection tool.

The Google Cloud Resource Hierarchy is designed to allow inheritance with the ability to override policies at lower levels (Folders or Projects).2 This is the standard way to handle exceptions for specific business units without weakening the security posture of the entire organization.

According to Google Cloud Documentation (Understanding Hierarchy Evaluation):

"By default, organization policies are inherited by the descendants of the resource on which the policy is enforced. However, you can explicitly override a policy on a child resource (Folder or Project) by setting a new policy that either adds to or replaces the inherited values.3 This allows for granular control and exception handling."

Why this is the correct approach:

Isolation: By moving the workload to a specific folder, you isolate the exception.

Least Privilege: Only the resources within that folder gain the exception; the rest of the organization remains protected by the constraints/compute.vmExternalIpAccess constraint.

No "Bypass" Role: There is no standard IAM role that allows a user to "bypass" an Org Policy (Option A). Policies are enforced at the API level regardless of user roles.

Auditability: Having a specific folder with an override makes it easy for auditors to see exactly where and why an exception exists.

Cloud NAT Service: Use Cloud NAT (Network Address Translation) to allow VM instances without external IP addresses to access the internet securely.

Configuration: Configure Cloud NAT for the subnets containing your VM instances. This setup allows the VMs to initiate outbound connections to the internet for updates and other necessary communications.

Security Compliance: By using Cloud NAT, you adhere to the security policy of not assigning external IP addresses to VMs while still enabling necessary internet connectivity. Cloud NAT provides a secure method for outbound internet traffic without exposing VMs directly to the public internet. References:

Google Cloud - Cloud NAT Overview

Google Cloud - Configuring Cloud NAT