No response, suspended Google Cloud Project

Hi ​@Kragekjaer Sorry you are experiencing this. Unfortunately you have come to the incorrect community. This forum is for specific questions and topics related to Google Security Operations.  

I looked online and here’s what I found for you:

The "Appeal Loop" Strategy

Google’s suspension review process is largely automated or handled by specialized compliance teams that do not interact with standard support channels. If you haven't heard back since April 5th, your appeal might be stuck in a queue or flagged for further clarification.

• Don't open multiple tickets: This often resets your position in the queue or causes the system to flag the requests as spam.

• The "One-Time" Detailed Update: Instead of a new ticket, find the original confirmation email of your appeal and reply to it directly. Provide a concise executive summary of the financial and user impact.

• Highlight the "Human" Element: Mention specifically that this is a niche app for dog owners with years of development. Sometimes, adding the context of the real-world impact helps move the needle during manual reviews.

Refine Your "Preventative Measures"

Your list of actions is technically sound, but Google looks for evidence of remediation. Since you cannot access the console to rotate keys, you must emphasize that you are ready to do so the second access is restored.

Add these specific points to your appeal text:

• API Restrictions: State that you will implement API Key Restrictions (limiting keys to specific IP addresses, HTTP referrers, or Android/iOS apps) immediately upon re-entry.

• Secret Manager: Mention you will move from environment variables/hardcoded keys to Google Cloud Secret Manager.

Communication Template for Support

If you have a paid support plan, use the "Phone" or "Chat" option to ask for an escalation. While they can't unblock you, they can verify if the appeal is "active" or "pending info."

Use this structure for your message:

Subject: Urgent: Critical Project Suspension Appeal (Project ID: project-5580276092549813950)

Issue: Project suspended since April 5 due to key misuse. Current Impact: Total service outage for [Number] of users. Years of development at risk. Remediation Status: Complete. All client-side keys have been purged from repos. Backend proxy architecture is ready for deployment. Request: Please escalate this to the Trust & Safety team for a final review. I am unable to perform the final key rotation/restriction without console access.\

Immediate Steps for Your Users

Since your users are dropping off, transparency is your best tool for retention:

1. Status Page/Social Media: Post a notice explaining that there is a "technical service interruption with the infrastructure provider."

2. Avoid Specifics: You don't need to tell them API keys were leaked; simply state you are performing "critical security migrations" to ensure their data remains safe.

3. Newsletter: If you have their emails, send a personal note. Dog owners are a passionate community—if they know the "human" behind the app is fighting to fix it, they are more likely to stay.

Why does this happen?

Suspensions for key misuse are usually triggered by automated quota spikes or detected secrets in public GitHub repos. The system is designed to "fail-safe" to protect your billing and Google’s infrastructure.

A Final Tip: If you have an Account Manager or work with a Google Cloud Partner, contact them immediately. They have internal channels to "ping" the compliance teams that regular users do not.

Wow, thanks a lot for your response. I will follow what to found. Thanks again.

Hello ​@matthewnichols 

I’m in the same situation and have done exactly what you recommend, but still haven’t received a reply from Google in regards to this matter for over 2 weeks. I guess there is nothing else I can do but wait another week and hope it gets resolved?