What you'll learn:
- Understand Google Cloud security fundamentals and shared security responsibilities.
- Create and securely configure Google Compute Engine virtual machines.
- Secure SSH access using OS Login and IAM-based authentication.
- Apply Google-recommended security best practices and VM hardening techniques.
Security is one of the most critical responsibilities of every Google Cloud administrator, cloud engineer, and DevOps professional. As organizations move their workloads to Google Cloud, protecting virtual machines, identities, data, and cloud resources becomes essential for maintaining a secure and compliant cloud environment.
This course is designed to help you understand and implement the security best practices recommended for Google Compute Engine. Whether you are new to Google Cloud or preparing for Google Cloud certifications, you'll gain practical knowledge that can be applied immediately in real-world environments.
We begin by creating and configuring Google Compute Engine virtual machines before exploring the different ways to securely connect to Linux and Windows VMs using SSH and RDP. You'll learn why traditional SSH key management can become difficult at scale and how Google Cloud's OS Login provides centralized, IAM-based authentication and authorization. We'll also cover the benefits, limitations, required IAM roles, and security best practices for implementing OS Login.
Next, we'll focus on securing private virtual machines that do not have external IP addresses. You'll learn multiple secure connectivity options including Bastion Hosts, Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) TCP Forwarding, Cloud VPN, and Cloud Interconnect. You'll understand when each solution should be used, their advantages, limitations, and how they compare in real-world enterprise environments.
The course then introduces advanced Compute Engine security features such as Shielded VMs, which protect the VM boot process from rootkits and bootkits, and Confidential VMs, which safeguard sensitive data while it is being processed in memory using hardware-based encryption technologies.
Some course content, examples, and learning materials were created and enhanced using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. However, all content has been reviewed, validated, and presented by the instructor to ensure it is accurate and aligned with the course objectives.
We have made every effort to keep this course accurate and up to date. However, Google Cloud services and security best practices evolve over time. Before implementing any techniques in production or business-critical environments, always verify the latest guidance in the official Google Cloud documentation and follow your organization's security policies.
This course is intended for educational purposes only. The instructor is not responsible for any issues, security incidents, or losses resulting from the application of the course content without proper testing, validation, and review.
