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PCSE Practice Question: A company stores sensitive customer data in Cloud…
A company stores sensitive customer data in Cloud Storage. They want to ensure that data is encrypted at rest using customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) and that access to the key is audited. Which approach should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between CMEK and CSEK, and the trap here is that candidates confuse 'customer-managed' with 'customer-supplied' and overlook that CMEK requires Cloud KMS for key management and auditing, not just storing key material in Cloud Storage or Secret Manager.
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 CMEK with a Cloud KMS key and enable Cloud Audit Logs for the key.
It combines customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) via Cloud KMS with Cloud Audit Logs enabled on the key itself. This ensures the data is encrypted at rest using a key that the customer controls and rotates, and all operations against that key (e.g., encrypt, decrypt, enable, disable) are logged for auditing. Cloud Audit Logs on the bucket alone would not capture key access events, which is required for full auditability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Google-managed encryption keys and enable Cloud Audit Logs for the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Google-managed keys do not allow customer control over key rotation or access.
- ✗
Use CMEK with key material stored in a Cloud Storage bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Key material for CMEK must be stored in Cloud KMS, not in Cloud Storage.
- ✗
Use customer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK) and store the keys in Secret Manager.
Why it's wrong here
CSEK requires providing the key with each request, and keys stored in Secret Manager are not automatically used by Cloud Storage.
- ✓
Use CMEK with a Cloud KMS key and enable Cloud Audit Logs for the key.
Why this is correct
CMEK uses Cloud KMS, and audit logs track access to the key.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.