Five real Professional Cloud Security Engineer projects mapped directly to GCP-PCSE exam objectives. Mark a step complete and HandsOnCert commits the evidence — IAM policies, VPC Service Controls perimeters, Binary Authorization policies — straight to your own GitHub repo. The portfolio employers actually click into.
$79 one-time · Project 1 free · No subscription
Every project maps to an official GCP-PCSE exam domain. Each one ends with evidence committed to your GitHub repo automatically.
Design an IAM structure using the resource hierarchy (organization, folders, projects), create custom roles following least privilege, and configure IAM Conditions for time-based or attribute-based access. Commit your IAM policy definitions and resource hierarchy diagram.
Configuring Access — ~24% of examCreate a VPC Service Controls perimeter around a sensitive project, configure firewall rules following least privilege, and set up Cloud NAT for private instances requiring outbound access. Commit your VPC Service Controls configuration and firewall rule definitions.
Configuring Network Security — ~20% of examConfigure Cloud KMS customer-managed encryption keys for Cloud Storage and BigQuery, and set up a Cloud DLP job to scan a dataset for sensitive data (e.g., PII patterns). Commit your KMS key configuration and DLP scan results.
Ensuring Data Protection — ~18% of examEnable Security Command Center, review findings, and configure Cloud Logging with a sink for security-relevant logs. Set up an alerting policy for a specific security event. Commit your Security Command Center findings and logging configuration.
Managing Operations — ~18% of examConfigure Binary Authorization for GKE requiring signed container images, and document a compliance mapping for your environment against a framework (e.g., CIS Benchmarks). Commit your Binary Authorization policy and compliance documentation.
Ensuring Compliance — ~20% of examEvery completed step auto-commits evidence to your own repo. No fake portfolio templates — real configs, real screenshots, real history.
No simulators. You work in the actual Google Cloud console and tools, the same ones you'll use on the job and in the GCP-PCSE exam.
Stuck on a step or an exam concept? Cert Buddy is trained on GCP-PCSE objectives and helps you debug and understand — not just copy-paste.
Every chargeable resource has a clear alert telling you exactly when to stop, deallocate, or delete — so a lab break doesn't become a surprise bill.
Get the full GCP-PCSE lab guide as a PDF — step-by-step instructions, screenshots to capture, and an exam quick-reference section.
$79 once. No subscription, no recurring charges. Or get All-Access to all 21 cert paths for $199.
Are the GCP-PCSE hands-on labs free?
Project 1 (IAM and Resource Hierarchy) is completely free, including unlimited access to Cert Buddy for that project and the manual GitHub commit workflow. The remaining 4 projects unlock for a one-time payment of $79.
Do I need a GCP account for these labs?
Yes, you need a Google Cloud account with the $300 free trial credit (valid 90 days). GCP-PCSE labs use GKE, KMS, and Security Command Center — each project includes a cost alert with cleanup commands; total out-of-pocket cost should be approximately $10-20 across all 5 projects.
How does the GitHub portfolio auto-commit work for GCP-PCSE?
When you mark a lab step complete, HandsOnCert commits your IAM policies, VPC Service Controls configurations, and Binary Authorization policies directly to your own GitHub repository via OAuth — demonstrating real security configuration work.
How long does the GCP-PCSE path take to complete?
The 5 projects take approximately 12 hours total, covering access configuration, network security, data protection, security operations, and compliance — the same domains tested on the GCP-PCSE exam.
Do I need other GCP certifications before GCP-PCSE?
GCP-ACE is recommended as foundational experience before GCP-PCSE, since PCSE assumes familiarity with core GCP services and the console. PCSE then adds a security-specific deep dive on top of that foundation.
How does GCP-PCSE compare to AWS SCS-C03 or Azure SC-500?
GCP-PCSE, AWS SCS-C03 (Security Specialty), and Azure SC-500 (Cloud and AI Security Engineer) are each platform-specific security certifications covering similar concepts — IAM, encryption, network security, compliance — applied to their respective clouds.
Start Project 1 free — no credit card required. See exactly how the GitHub auto-commit works before you pay anything.
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