The most effective way to address VM sprawl while enforcing consistent security baselines at the VM creation stage (VM lifecycle management) is through the use of immutable, hardened images built via an automated pipeline.
Centralized Image Management and Hardening: A Cloud Build pipeline is the standard way to automate the creation of "golden images." The pipeline can install OS/packages, apply hardening scripts (e.g., CIS benchmarks), run vulnerability scans, and then store only the verified, secure images in a central registry. This centralizes control over the security baseline.
Enforcement: Instance Templates are the mechanism to standardize VM deployment. By configuring the templates to only point to the central registry of approved, hardened images, you ensure that every new VM spun up automatically adheres to the security baseline. This prevents teams from deploying unhardened or insecure images, solving the "VM sprawl" and "consistent security hardening" problem at its source.
Option A (SCC Posture Management) is a detective control that monitors after the VM is deployed; it does not prevent unhardened VMs from being created, which is the goal of lifecycle management.
Option D (VM Manager) is excellent for ongoing patching and updating of existing VMs, but it doesn't solve the initial problem of ensuring a secure, centralized, hardened image is used for creation (which is where the baseline is enforced).
Extracts:
"Golden images that are configured and used to create servers play a key role in allowing companies to scale securely." (Source 1.2)
"Using an automated tool eradicates this issue. When engineers use images produced by [automated tools], the evidence is clear, as everything needed is pre-baked into the image." (Source 1.2)
"An instance template is a convenient way to save a virtual machine (VM) instance's configuration that includes machine type, boot disk image... You can use an instance template to... Create individual VMs." (Source 3.3)
The overall strategy described in Option B—automate hardening, scan, store, and enforce usage via templates—is the best practice for secure and compliant VM deployment at scale.
