Security best practices in GCP - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the principle of least privilege in cloud security?

It means giving users and services only the minimum access they need to do their job, nothing more. This reduces the risk of accidental or malicious damage.

beginner

Why should you enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your cloud accounts?

MFA adds an extra step to verify your identity, like a code from your phone, making it much harder for attackers to access your account even if they know your password.

intermediate

What is the purpose of using service accounts in GCP?

Service accounts let applications or virtual machines securely access other cloud services with specific permissions, instead of using user credentials.

intermediate

How does enabling audit logs help improve cloud security?

Audit logs record who did what and when in your cloud environment. This helps detect suspicious activity and investigate security incidents.

beginner

What is the benefit of encrypting data at rest and in transit?

Encryption scrambles data so only authorized users can read it. This protects sensitive information from being stolen or seen by attackers.

Which practice limits user access to only what is necessary?

A Audit logging

B Multi-factor authentication

C Principle of least privilege

D Data encryption

The principle of least privilege restricts access rights for users to the bare minimum needed.

What does enabling multi-factor authentication protect against?

A Password theft

B Data encryption

C Audit log creation

D Service account misuse

MFA protects accounts even if passwords are stolen by requiring an additional verification step.

What is a service account used for in GCP?

A To allow applications to access cloud services securely

B To store user passwords

C To encrypt data at rest

D To monitor network traffic

Service accounts provide identities for applications to access cloud resources with specific permissions.

Why are audit logs important in cloud security?

A They provide multi-factor authentication

B They encrypt data

C They restrict user access

D They record user actions for security monitoring

Audit logs help track and investigate activities to detect security issues.

Encrypting data in transit means:

A Logging user actions

B Protecting data while it moves between systems

C Limiting user access

D Storing data on a hard drive

Encryption in transit protects data from being intercepted during transfer.

Explain the key security best practices to protect cloud resources in GCP.

Think about access control, identity verification, monitoring, and data protection.

Describe how audit logs and encryption work together to improve cloud security.

Consider monitoring and protecting data as two layers of defense.