Google PCA Designing for Security and Compliance Practice Question
A company wants to encrypt data at rest in Cloud Storage using their own keys stored on-premises. They need to rotate the key every 30 days. Which encryption option should they use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK)
Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK) allow users to provide their own keys for encrypting Cloud Storage objects. The keys are managed on-premises and can be rotated as needed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Default encryption with Google-managed keys
Why it's wrong here
Default encryption uses Google-managed keys, not customer-supplied keys.
- ✗
Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) with Cloud KMS
Why it's wrong here
CMEK uses keys managed in Cloud KMS, not on-premises.
- ✓
Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK)
Why this is correct
CSEK allows customers to supply their own keys, which are used server-side but not stored by Google.
- ✗
Cloud HSM
Why it's wrong here
Cloud HSM is for creating and managing keys in a hardware security module but still managed by Google.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCA practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCA exam.