PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
A financial services company must encrypt data at rest in Cloud Storage using keys that are generated and stored on-premises, and Google must never have access to the key material. Which encryption approach 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)
CSEK (Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys) allows you to provide your own keys with each API call, and Google does not store them. This meets the requirement that Google never has access to key material.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud External Key Manager (EKM) with a key management partner
Why it's wrong here
EKM allows external key management, but Google may cache keys; it does not guarantee zero access.
- ✓
Customer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK)
Why this is correct
CSEK keys are provided per API call and never stored by Google.
- ✗
Default Google-managed encryption (GMEK)
Why it's wrong here
Google manages keys and has access to them.
- ✗
Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) using Cloud KMS
Why it's wrong here
CMEK keys are stored in Cloud KMS; Google has access to the key material.
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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.