Service account keys management in GCP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Service account keys management

📖 Scenario: You are managing a Google Cloud project. You need to create and manage service account keys securely to allow applications to authenticate with Google Cloud services.

🎯 Goal: Build a script that creates a service account key, lists existing keys, and deletes a specified key to keep your project secure.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a service account key for a given service account

List all keys for the service account

Delete a specific key by its ID

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Managing service account keys is essential for securing access to Google Cloud resources by applications and services.

💼 Career

Cloud engineers and administrators regularly create, list, and delete service account keys to maintain security and compliance.

1

Create a service account key

Write a command to create a service account key for the service account with email [e-mail] and save the key to a file named key.json.

GCP

# Your command here to create the service account key and save it to key.json

Hint

Use the gcloud iam service-accounts keys create command with the --iam-account flag.

2

List all keys for the service account

Write a command to list all keys for the service account with email [e-mail].

GCP

# Your command here to list all keys for the service account

Hint

Use the gcloud iam service-accounts keys list command with the --iam-account flag.

3

Delete a specific service account key

Write a command to delete the service account key with ID 123abc456def789ghi for the service account with email [e-mail].

GCP

# Your command here to delete the key with ID 123abc456def789ghi

Hint

Use the gcloud iam service-accounts keys delete command with the key ID and --iam-account flag.

4

Add a confirmation flag to the delete command

Modify the delete command to include the --quiet flag to avoid interactive confirmation prompts.

GCP

# Add the --quiet flag to the delete command

Hint

Add --quiet at the end of the delete command.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of a service account key in Google Cloud?

easy

A. To manage billing information for Google Cloud projects

B. To store user passwords for Google Cloud accounts

C. To allow programs to securely access Google Cloud resources

D. To create virtual machines automatically

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand service account keys

   Service account keys are used by programs, not humans, to access Google Cloud securely.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct purpose

   They provide credentials for applications to authenticate and interact with cloud services.

3. Final Answer:

   To allow programs to securely access Google Cloud resources -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Service account keys = secure program access [OK]

Hint: Keys let programs access cloud securely, not users [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing keys with user passwords
• Thinking keys manage billing
• Believing keys create virtual machines

2. Which gcloud command correctly creates a new service account key for the account [e-mail]?

easy

A. gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=[e-mail]

B. gcloud iam service-accounts create key.json --account=[e-mail]

C. gcloud service-accounts keys create key.json --account=[e-mail]

D. gcloud iam keys create key.json --iam-account=[e-mail]

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct gcloud command syntax

   The correct command to create a key is gcloud iam service-accounts keys create with the --iam-account flag.

2. Step 2: Match the command with the options

   gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=[e-mail] matches the correct syntax exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=[e-mail] -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct command syntax = gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=[e-mail] [OK]

Hint: Use 'iam service-accounts keys create' with --iam-account [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'create' without 'keys'
• Wrong flag like --account instead of --iam-account
• Omitting 'iam' in the command

3. What will be the output of the following command?

gcloud iam service-accounts keys list --iam-account=[e-mail]

Assuming there are two active keys for this service account.

medium

A. A prompt to create a new key

B. An error saying no keys found

C. A list of all service accounts in the project

D. A list showing details of the two active keys including key IDs and creation dates

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command purpose

   The command lists keys for the specified service account.

2. Step 2: Interpret expected output

   Since two active keys exist, the output will show their details like key IDs and creation dates.

3. Final Answer:

   A list showing details of the two active keys including key IDs and creation dates -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Listing keys shows active keys details [OK]

Hint: List keys command shows active keys info [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting an error if keys exist
• Confusing keys list with service accounts list
• Thinking it prompts for key creation

4. You run the command:

gcloud iam service-accounts keys delete 123abc --iam-account=[e-mail]

But get an error saying the key ID does not exist. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The key ID is incorrect or does not belong to the specified service account

B. The service account email is misspelled

C. You need to create a new key before deleting

D. The project ID is missing from the command

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the error message

   The error says the key ID does not exist, meaning the key ID is invalid or not linked to the service account.

2. Step 2: Check command components

   The service account email may be correct, and project ID is not required here if default is set. Creating a key before deleting is unnecessary.

3. Final Answer:

   The key ID is incorrect or does not belong to the specified service account -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Invalid key ID causes deletion error [OK]

Hint: Check key ID matches service account keys [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming project ID is mandatory in this command
• Thinking you must create a key before deleting
• Ignoring key ID correctness

5. You want to rotate service account keys to improve security. Which sequence of actions is the best practice?

hard

A. Delete the old key first, then create a new key and update applications

B. Create a new key, update your applications to use it, then delete the old key

C. Create multiple keys and use them all simultaneously without deleting any

D. Keep using the old key until it expires, then create a new key

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand key rotation best practice

   To avoid downtime, first create a new key and update applications to use it.

2. Step 2: Remove old key after update

   Once applications use the new key, delete the old key to reduce risk.

3. Final Answer:

   Create a new key, update your applications to use it, then delete the old key -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   New key first, then delete old key [OK]

Hint: Add new key before deleting old one to avoid downtime [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Deleting old key before updating apps
• Using multiple keys unnecessarily
• Waiting for old key to expire before rotating