Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer Practice Exam

What might cause an alert regarding an external IP address on a VM after setting an organizational policy to deny their assignment?

1. A project level, the organizational policy control has been overwritten with an "allow" value.

2. A user manually disabled the organizational policy.

3. The VM was created in a different folder with a separate policy.

4. The alert was triggered by a system error without real implications.

The correct answer is: A project level, the organizational policy control has been overwritten with an "allow" value.

The correct choice highlights an important aspect of organizational policies in Google Cloud. When a policy is set at the organizational level to deny the assignment of external IP addresses, it is designed to enforce compliance across all projects and resources within that organization. However, if there is a project-level policy that explicitly allows the assignment of external IP addresses and that policy takes precedence over the organizational default, this can lead to alerts being triggered when an external IP is assigned to a VM. This scenario underscores the hierarchical nature of policy application in Google Cloud, where more specific policies can override broader organizational policies if not carefully managed. Proper configurations ensure that intended restrictions are respected throughout the entire organization's structure, and awareness of policy precedence is crucial for maintaining security posture. The other scenarios do suggest potential issues but do not directly lead to the specific outcome of an alert related to external IP assignment. For instance, a manual disablement of the organizational policy or the VM being created in a different folder with a separate policy would either not trigger alerts or rely on a misunderstanding of the policy application process. Meanwhile, attributing an alert to just a system error would undermine the significance of security practices in place. Understanding organizational policy hierarchies helps prevent such inconsistencies and enhances the overall security landscape in Google