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Google Cloud IAM

Google Cloud IAM: principals, roles, service accounts, workload identity federation, and Google Cloud-specific access control patterns.

14 terms in Google Cloud IAM

4 min read

What is Google Cloud IAM?

Google Cloud IAM controls who can do what on which Google Cloud resources. Learn the core concepts — principals, roles, permissions, and policy bindings.

Google Cloud IAMGCPIAM Roles
4 min read

Google Cloud IAM Basics: Principals, Roles, and Permissions

Google Cloud IAM rests on three core ideas: principals, roles, and permissions, joined together by policy bindings on a resource hierarchy. Learn how they interact.

Google Cloud IAMGCPIAM Basics
4 min read

What is a Google Cloud Principal?

A Google Cloud Principal is the entity making a request — a user, group, service account, or federated identity. Learn the principal types and how to use them safely.

Google Cloud PrincipalGCP IAMService Account
4 min read

What is a Google Cloud Role?

A Google Cloud Role is a named collection of permissions you grant to principals. Learn the basic, predefined, and custom role types and when to use each.

Google Cloud RoleGCP IAMPredefined Roles
5 min read

What is a Google Cloud Service Account?

A Google Cloud service account is a special non-human identity for workloads. Learn how it works, how to use it safely, and why it's a top NHI risk.

Google Cloud Service AccountNon-Human IdentityGCP IAM
5 min read

Basic Roles vs Predefined Roles vs Custom Roles

Google Cloud offers three role types — Basic, Predefined, and Custom. Learn the differences and when to use each for least privilege.

Google Cloud RolesPredefined RolesCustom Roles
5 min read

What is Service Account Impersonation?

Service account impersonation lets a principal act as a Google Cloud service account temporarily — eliminating the need for service account keys.

Service Account ImpersonationGoogle Cloud IAMToken Creator
5 min read

What is Workload Identity Federation?

Workload Identity Federation lets external workloads (CI/CD, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes) authenticate to Google Cloud without service account keys.

Workload Identity FederationGoogle Cloud IAMOIDC
4 min read

What is IAM Policy Binding in Google Cloud?

An IAM policy binding in Google Cloud links a principal to a role on a resource (optionally with a condition). Learn how bindings drive every IAM decision.

IAM Policy BindingGoogle Cloud IAMIAM Conditions
5 min read

What is Google Cloud Resource Hierarchy?

The Google Cloud Resource Hierarchy organizes resources into Organization → Folders → Projects → Resources, with IAM and policies inheriting downward.

Google Cloud Resource HierarchyGCPOrganization
5 min read

What is Least Privilege in Google Cloud IAM?

Least privilege in Google Cloud IAM means granting principals the minimum permissions needed to do their job. Learn how to apply it across the hierarchy.

Least PrivilegeGoogle Cloud IAMGCP Security
5 min read

Common Google Cloud IAM Misconfigurations

From basic roles to public buckets and Token Creator chains, learn the most common Google Cloud IAM misconfigurations and how to fix them.

Google Cloud IAMMisconfigurationsGCP Security
4 min read

Google Cloud IAM Security Best Practices

A consolidated list of Google Cloud IAM security best practices — covering identities, roles, hierarchy, federation, monitoring, and recovery.

Google Cloud IAMGCP SecurityBest Practices
4 min read

Google Cloud IAM Security Checklist for Beginners

A practical, beginner-friendly Google Cloud IAM security checklist covering hierarchy, identities, roles, federation, monitoring, and recovery.

Google Cloud IAMChecklistGCP Security

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Google Cloud IAM Glossary | Identity Security Terms | Forestall