Check ID: compute_snapshot_not_outdated
Provider: GCP
Service: compute
Severity: LOW
Categories: resilience
Resource type: compute.googleapis.com/Snapshot

What this check verifies

Compute Engine disk snapshots are evaluated against a configurable age threshold (default 90 days) to identify snapshots exceeding the organization’s retention policy.

Risk

Outdated snapshots containing sensitive data expand the attack surface and risk data exposure if compromised. Stale snapshots may violate compliance requirements, complicate disaster recovery efforts, and introduce configuration drift that affects system integrity.

Recommendation

Implement a snapshot lifecycle policy to automatically delete snapshots older than your organization’s retention requirements. Regularly review and clean up outdated snapshots to reduce storage costs and minimize data exposure risks. Consider using scheduled snapshots with automatic deletion policies.

Remediation

gcloud compute snapshots delete SNAPSHOT_NAME --project=PROJECT_ID

References

Where this check fires

This check runs on every scheduled scan against your GCP account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable by Check ID = compute_snapshot_not_outdated. To re-evaluate after a fix, hit Run now on the account’s schedule under Cloud Security → Schedules — the next scan re-checks this control and marks the finding fixed or keeps it persistent.
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