Security Pillar

The Security, Privacy, and Compliance pillar of the GCP Architecture Framework focuses on protecting your workloads, data, and users from threats. Google Cloud provides a layered security model with controls at every level — identity, network, data, and application. A well-architected workload on GCP applies the principle of least privilege, encrypts data at every stage, and continuously monitors for threats.

---

Design Principles

Principle	Description
Defence in depth	Apply multiple layers of security controls — no single layer is sufficient
Least privilege	Grant only the minimum permissions required for each identity
Zero trust	Verify every request regardless of its origin — do not trust the network
Shift left	Integrate security into the development process, not just deployment
Automate security	Use policy-as-code and automated scanning to enforce security at scale

---

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

IAM is the foundation of GCP security. It controls who can do what on which resources.

Key Concepts