Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer Practice Exam

Which Google Cloud service is primarily utilized to protect applications as part of a zero trust model?

1. Cloud Armor

2. Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)

3. Cloud Identity

4. Cloud Load Balancing

The correct answer is: Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)

The Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) is a crucial component in implementing a zero trust model within Google Cloud services. It provides a way to establish identity-centric access control to your applications by enforcing authentication and authorization policies. This means that access to applications is based on the identity of the user rather than the location from where the request is made, fully aligning with the principles of zero trust, which assumes that no internal or external network is inherently trusted. IAP allows organizations to protect their applications by allowing only authenticated users, determined through various forms of identity validation, such as Google Account credentials or third-party identity providers. It seamlessly integrates with existing Google Cloud services, making it easy to secure applications hosted on Google Cloud without needing to manage additional infrastructure. The other options, while useful in their respective contexts—such as Cloud Armor providing DDoS protection and WAF capabilities, Cloud Identity managing users and groups, and Cloud Load Balancing handling traffic distribution—do not specifically address protecting applications through identity verification and access control like IAP does. Therefore, IAP stands out as the primary service for ensuring secure access in a zero trust architecture.