Audit logging in GCP - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the command to enable audit logging for a GCP project.

GCP

gcloud logging [1] create --project=my-project

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alogs

Bsinks

Cenable

Daudit

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'logs' instead of 'sinks' causes an unknown command error.

Using 'enable' or 'audit' are not valid subcommands here.

The gcloud logging sinks create command is used to create a sink, which can be used to export audit logs.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to list audit logs in GCP.

GCP

gcloud logging [1] list --project=my-project

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aentries

Bsinks

Cmetrics

Dlogs

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'logs' lists log names, not entries.

Using 'sinks' or 'metrics' lists other resources, not logs.

The gcloud logging entries list command lists log entries, including audit logs.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to enable audit logging for BigQuery.

GCP

gcloud logging sinks create bigquery_sink bigquery.googleapis.com/projects/my-project/datasets/my_dataset --log-filter='resource.type=[1]' --project=my-project

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Abigquery_resource

Bbigquery_table

Cbigquery_dataset

Dbigquery_project

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'bigquery_table' causes no logs to match the filter.

Using 'bigquery_project' or 'bigquery_resource' are invalid resource types.

The correct resource type for BigQuery audit logs is bigquery_dataset.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a filter for audit logs of admin activity on Compute Engine.

GCP

resource.type=[1] AND protoPayload.methodName=[2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Agce_instance

Bcompute.googleapis.com

Cv1.compute.instances.insert

Dgce_project

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'compute.googleapis.com' as resource type is incorrect.

Using 'gce_project' is not a valid resource type.

Using 'compute.instances.delete' would filter deletions, not creations.

The resource type for Compute Engine instances is gce_instance. The method name for creating instances is v1.compute.instances.insert.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a dictionary comprehension that maps log names to their creation timestamps, filtering logs with 'admin' in their name.

GCP

{ [1]: [2] for [3] in logs if 'admin' in [3] }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alog.name

Blog.createTime

Clog

Dlogs

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'logs' as the loop variable causes errors.

Using 'log' as the key or value without attribute causes errors.

Using 'log.createTime' as key is incorrect.

We use log.name as the key, log.createTime as the value, and iterate over log in logs.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of audit logging in Google Cloud Platform?

easy

A. To create virtual machines

B. To record actions for security and troubleshooting

C. To speed up network traffic

D. To increase storage capacity automatically

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand audit logging function

   Audit logging captures user and system actions in your cloud environment.

2. Step 2: Identify the purpose

   This helps with security monitoring and troubleshooting issues.

3. Final Answer:

   To record actions for security and troubleshooting -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Audit logging = record actions [OK]

Hint: Audit logs track actions for security and fixes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing audit logs with storage or network features
• Thinking audit logs create resources
• Assuming audit logs improve performance

2. Which command correctly creates a sink to export audit logs to a Cloud Storage bucket named my-logs-bucket?

easy

A. gcloud logging sinks create my-sink storage.googleapis.com/my-logs-bucket --log-filter="resource.type=\"gce_instance\""

B. gcloud logging create sink my-sink storage://my-logs-bucket

C. gcloud logs create sink my-sink gs://my-logs-bucket

D. gcloud logging sinks add my-sink storage.googleapis.com/my-logs-bucket

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct gcloud command syntax

   The correct command uses gcloud logging sinks create followed by sink name and destination URL.

2. Step 2: Verify destination format

   Cloud Storage buckets use storage.googleapis.com/BUCKET_NAME format.

3. Final Answer:

   gcloud logging sinks create my-sink storage.googleapis.com/my-logs-bucket --log-filter="resource.type=\"gce_instance\"" -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct sink creation syntax = gcloud logging sinks create my-sink storage.googleapis.com/my-logs-bucket --log-filter="resource.type=\"gce_instance\"" [OK]

Hint: Use 'gcloud logging sinks create' with full storage URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using wrong command verbs like 'create sink' or 'add sink'
• Incorrect bucket URL format (missing storage.googleapis.com)
• Using 'gs://' instead of full URL

3. Given this filter in a sink configuration: resource.type="bigquery_resource" AND protoPayload.methodName="jobservice.jobcompleted", what logs will be exported?

medium

A. Only logs from Compute Engine instances

B. All error logs from Cloud Storage

C. All BigQuery job completion audit logs

D. All network traffic logs

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the resource type filter

   The filter specifies resource.type="bigquery_resource", so logs relate to BigQuery.

2. Step 2: Analyze the method name filter

   protoPayload.methodName="jobservice.jobcompleted" means only job completion events are included.

3. Final Answer:

   All BigQuery job completion audit logs -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Filter matches BigQuery job completions = All BigQuery job completion audit logs [OK]

Hint: Filter resource and method to find exported logs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing resource types with unrelated services
• Ignoring methodName filter
• Assuming all logs are exported

4. You created a sink to export audit logs to a Pub/Sub topic but logs are not appearing. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The sink lacks permission to publish to the Pub/Sub topic

B. The sink filter is too broad and excludes all logs

C. Audit logging is disabled in the project

D. The Pub/Sub topic name is misspelled in the sink

Solution

1. Step 1: Check sink permissions

   Sinks need permission to write to destinations like Pub/Sub topics.

2. Step 2: Identify common permission issue

   If logs do not appear, the sink likely lacks the pubsub.publisher role on the topic.

3. Final Answer:

   The sink lacks permission to publish to the Pub/Sub topic -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Missing sink permissions = The sink lacks permission to publish to the Pub/Sub topic [OK]

Hint: Check sink destination permissions first when logs missing [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming audit logging is off without checking
• Blaming filter without verifying permissions
• Ignoring typo in topic name

5. You want to export only admin activity audit logs for Cloud Storage buckets in your project to a BigQuery dataset for analysis. Which sink filter is correct?

hard

A. resource.type="gcs_bucket" AND severity="ERROR"

B. logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/activity" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket" AND protoPayload.methodName:"storage.objects.create"

C. logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/data_access" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket"

D. logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/admin_activity" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify admin activity logs

   Admin activity logs use logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/admin_activity".

2. Step 2: Filter for Cloud Storage buckets

   Use resource.type="gcs_bucket" to target storage buckets.

3. Step 3: Confirm filter matches requirement

   logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/admin_activity" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket" correctly combines admin activity logs with GCS buckets.

4. Final Answer:

   logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/admin_activity" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket" -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Admin activity + GCS bucket filter = logName:"cloudaudit.googleapis.com/admin_activity" AND resource.type="gcs_bucket" [OK]

Hint: Use admin_activity logName for admin logs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using data_access logs instead of admin_activity
• Filtering by specific methods unnecessarily
• Confusing severity with log type