Google PCA Designing for Security and Compliance Practice Question
A security team wants to ensure that all Compute Engine instances in a project are launched with a specific custom encryption key (CMEK) stored in Cloud KMS. What is the correct way to enforce this policy?
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
✓
Use the organization policy constraint constraints/compute.requireCmek.
Using organization policy constraints, specifically constraints/compute.requireCmek, enforces that all new disks are encrypted with a CMEK from Cloud KMS. Other options do not enforce encryption at a project level.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set a service account with permissions to use the CMEK.
Why it's wrong here
Service accounts enable use but do not enforce usage.
- ✓
Use the organization policy constraint constraints/compute.requireCmek.
Why this is correct
This constraint requires all persistent disks to be encrypted with a CMEK.
- ✗
Create a firewall rule to block unencrypted traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules do not enforce disk encryption.
- ✗
Configure the VPC Service Perimeter to block non-CMEK instances.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Service Perimeters control data exfiltration, not encryption enforcement.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Cloud KMS
Cloud KMS (Key Management Service) is a cloud-based service that lets you create, manage, and use encryption keys to protect your data at rest and in transit.
Key term
Project
A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, managed through specific processes in IT environments.
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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.