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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Google
Exam Format
120 min
50-60
~70%
Professional
Registration
$200 USD
Kryterion (onsite), Remote proctored (online), or online proctoring
Validity
2 years
Retake and pass the Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam within the renewal eligibility period; Renewal eligibility begins 60 days before certification expiration; If more than 30 days past expiration, must retake the full standard exam at full price
GCP-PCSE Exam Topics and Domains
GCP-PCSE is organized into 5 weighted domains. Expect to work with IAM, Cloud Identity, Cloud Logging, Cloud Storage, and more.
1
Configuring Access
25%
Managing Cloud Identity
Configuring Google Cloud Directory Sync and implementing SSO with third-party identity providersManaging a super administrator accountAutomating the user lifecycle management processAdministering user accounts and groups programmaticallyConfiguring Workforce Identity Federation
- Configure Google Cloud Directory Sync and implement SSO with a third-party identity provider
- Manage a super administrator account securely
- Automate the user lifecycle management process
- Administer user accounts and groups programmatically
- Configure Workforce Identity Federation
Managing Service Accounts
Securing and protecting service accounts (including default service accounts)Identifying scenarios requiring service accountsCreating, disabling, and authorizing service accountsSecuring, auditing, and mitigating the usage of service account keysManaging and creating short-lived credentialsConfiguring Workload Identity FederationManaging service account impersonation
- Secure and protect service accounts including default service accounts
- Identify scenarios requiring service accounts
- Create, disable, and authorize service accounts
- Secure, audit, and mitigate the usage of service account keys
- Manage and create short-lived credentials
- Configure Workload Identity Federation
- Manage service account impersonation
Managing Authentication
Creating a password and session management policy for user accountsSetting up Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) and OAuthConfiguring and enforcing 2-step verification
- Create a password and session management policy for user accounts
- Set up SAML and OAuth authentication
- Configure and enforce 2-step verification
Managing and Implementing Authorization Controls
Managing privileged roles and separation of duties with IAM roles and permissionsManaging IAM and access control list (ACL) permissionsGranting permissions to different types of identities using IAM conditions and IAM deny policiesDefining access control at the organization, folder, project, and resource level using the principle of least privilegeConfiguring Access Context ManagerApplying Policy IntelligenceManaging permissions through groupsIdentifying use cases and configuring Privileged Access Manager
- Manage privileged roles and separation of duties with IAM roles and permissions
- Manage IAM and ACL permissions
- Grant permissions using IAM conditions and IAM deny policies
- Define access control at organization, folder, project, and resource level using least privilege
- Configure Access Context Manager
- Apply Policy Intelligence tools
- Manage permissions through groups
- Identify use cases and configure Privileged Access Manager
Defining the Resource Hierarchy
Managing folders and projects at scaleManaging pre-built or custom organization policies for the organization, folders, and projectsUsing the resource hierarchy for access control and permissions inheritance
- Manage folders and projects at scale
- Manage pre-built or custom organization policies
- Use the resource hierarchy for access control and permissions inheritance
2
Securing Communications and Establishing Boundary Protection
22%
Designing and Configuring Perimeter Security
Configuring network perimeter controls (Cloud NGFW rules and policies, IAP, load balancers, Certificate Authority Service)Setting up application layer inspection on Cloud NGFW (Layer 7)Differentiating between private and public IP addressingConfiguring web application firewalls (Google Cloud Armor)Deploying Secure Web ProxyConfiguring Cloud DNS security settingsContinually monitoring and restricting configured APIs
- Configure network perimeter controls including Cloud NGFW, IAP, load balancers, and Certificate Authority Service
- Set up application layer inspection on Cloud NGFW
- Differentiate between private and public IP addressing
- Configure web application firewalls using Google Cloud Armor
- Deploy Secure Web Proxy
- Configure Cloud DNS security settings
- Monitor and restrict configured APIs
Configuring Boundary Segmentation
Configuring security properties of a VPC network, VPC peering, Shared VPC, and firewall rulesConfiguring network isolation and data encapsulation for N-tier applicationsIdentifying use cases and configuring VPC Service Controls
- Configure security properties of VPC networks, VPC peering, Shared VPC, and firewall rules
- Configure network isolation and data encapsulation for N-tier applications
- Identify use cases and configure VPC Service Controls
Establishing Private Connectivity
Designing and configuring private connectivity between VPC networks and Google Cloud projects (Shared VPC, VPC peering, Private Google Access for on-premises hosts)Designing and configuring private connectivity and encryption between data centers and VPC network (HA VPN, Cloud Interconnect)Establishing private connectivity between VPC and Google APIs (Private Google Access, restricted Google access, Private Service Connect)Using Cloud NAT to enable outbound traffic
- Design and configure private connectivity between VPC networks and Google Cloud projects
- Design and configure private connectivity between data centers and VPC networks
- Establish private connectivity between VPC and Google APIs
- Use Cloud NAT to enable outbound traffic
3
Ensuring Data Protection
23%
Protecting Sensitive Data and Preventing Data Loss
Configuring Sensitive Data Protection (SDP) (discovering and redacting PII, configuring pseudonymization and format-preserving encryption)Restricting access to Google Cloud data services (BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL datastores)Securing secrets with Secret ManagerProtecting and managing compute instance metadata
- Configure Sensitive Data Protection for PII discovery, redaction, and pseudonymization
- Restrict access to Google Cloud data services
- Secure secrets with Secret Manager
- Protect and manage compute instance metadata
Managing Encryption at Rest, in Transit, and in Use
Identifying use cases for Google default encryption, CMEK, and Cloud External Key Manager (EKM)Determining when to use software and hardware keysCreating and managing encryption keys for CMEK and EKM (key rotation, revocation, key import)Applying encryption methods to various use casesConfiguring object lifecycle policies for Cloud StorageEnabling Confidential Computing
- Identify use cases for Google default encryption, CMEK, and EKM
- Determine when to use software and hardware keys
- Create and manage encryption keys including rotation, revocation, and import
- Apply encryption methods to various use cases
- Configure object lifecycle policies for Cloud Storage
- Enable Confidential Computing
Securing AI Workloads
Implementing security and privacy controls for AI/ML systems to protect against unintentional exploitation of data or modelsDetermining security requirements for IaaS-hosted and PaaS-hosted training modelsImplementing security controls for Vertex AI
- Implement security and privacy controls for AI/ML systems
- Determine security requirements for IaaS-hosted and PaaS-hosted training models
- Implement security controls for Vertex AI
4
Managing Operations
19%
Automating Infrastructure and Application Security
Automating security scanning for CVEs through a CI/CD pipelineConfiguring Binary Authorization to secure GKE clusters or Cloud RunAutomating virtual machine and container image creation (hardening, maintenance, VM patch management)Managing policy and drift detection at scale (cloud security posture management, custom organization policies, custom modules for Security Health Analytics)
- Automate security scanning for CVEs through CI/CD pipelines
- Configure Binary Authorization to secure GKE clusters or Cloud Run
- Automate VM and container image creation including hardening and patch management
- Manage policy and drift detection at scale
Configuring Logging, Monitoring, and Detection
Configuring and analyzing network logs (Cloud NGFW, VPC flow logs, Packet Mirroring, Cloud IDS, Log Analytics)Designing an effective logging strategyLogging, monitoring, responding to, and remediating security incidentsDesigning secure access to logsExporting logs to external security systemsConfiguring and analyzing Google Cloud Audit Logs and data access logsConfiguring log exports (log sinks and aggregated sinks)Configuring and monitoring Security Command Center
- Configure and analyze network logs
- Design an effective logging strategy
- Log, monitor, respond to, and remediate security incidents
- Design secure access to logs
- Export logs to external security systems
- Configure and analyze Google Cloud Audit Logs and data access logs
- Configure log exports with log sinks and aggregated sinks
- Configure and monitor Security Command Center
5
Supporting Compliance Requirements
11%
Adhering to Regulatory and Industry Standards Requirements for the Cloud
Determining technical needs relative to compute, data, network, and storageEvaluating the shared responsibility modelConfiguring security controls within cloud environments to support compliance (Assured Workloads, organizational policies, Access Transparency, Access Approval, regionalization)Determining the Google Cloud environment in scope for regulatory complianceMapping compliance requirements to Google Cloud services and security controls (network and access segmentation, audit log coverage)
- Determine technical needs for compliance relative to compute, data, network, and storage
- Evaluate the shared responsibility model
- Configure security controls to support compliance requirements
- Determine Google Cloud environment scope for regulatory compliance
- Map compliance requirements to Google Cloud services and security controls
How do I earn this certification?
Passing GCP-PCSE earns the Google Cloud Certified - Professional Cloud Security Engineer certification. It sits in the Security track.
Next Level Options
Alternative Paths
GCP-PSOE - Professional Security Operations EngineerMore operations-focused alternative for those interested in threat detection and incident response rather than security architecture
Practice with Precision
The PlanetCert Simulator mirrors the real exam environment with authentic questions and timed pressure.
How to study for this exam?
The most effective way to prepare for GCP-PCSE is by using the PlanetCert Simulator to practice questions and review detailed explanations.
Who should take this exam?
- 3+ years of industry experience in IT security or cloud security
- 1+ year designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud
- Hands-on experience with Google Cloud IAM, VPC networking, encryption, and Security Command Center
- Familiarity with security compliance frameworks (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS)
- Understanding of identity federation, SAML, OAuth, and SSO concepts