This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of pcse exam topics. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer runs the following command to check encryption settings on a Cloud Storage bucket. What does the output indicate about encryption?
The bucket uses customer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK).
Why wrong: CSEK keys are not stored in Cloud KMS; they are provided per request.
The bucket has no default encryption.
Why wrong: The output clearly shows a default encryption key.
The bucket uses Google-managed encryption keys.
Why wrong: A KMS key path indicates CMEK, not Google-managed.
The bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK).
The key path shows a CMEK key.
Quick Answer
The answer is that the bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK). This is correct because the gsutil command output reveals a `default_kms_key_name` field populated with a full Cloud KMS key resource path, such as `projects/<project>/locations/<location>/keyRings/<keyring>/cryptoKeys/<key>`. When this field is set, it confirms the bucket is configured with CMEK, meaning you control the key lifecycle in Cloud KMS while Google handles the encryption operations. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this tests your ability to interpret gsutil output for encryption type detection; a common trap is confusing CMEK with CSEK (customer-supplied encryption keys), which would show no `default_kms_key_name` and instead require a key to be provided per request. Remember: if you see a full KMS key path in the output, it is always CMEK—think "KMS path equals managed key."
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK).
The output shows `default_kms_key_name` is set to a Cloud KMS key resource name (e.g., `projects/<project>/locations/<location>/keyRings/<keyring>/cryptoKeys/<key>`), which indicates the bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK). CMEK allows you to control and manage the key via Cloud KMS, while Google manages the underlying encryption operations.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
The bucket uses customer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK).
Why it's wrong here
CSEK keys are not stored in Cloud KMS; they are provided per request.
The bucket has no default encryption.
Why it's wrong here
The output clearly shows a default encryption key.
The bucket uses Google-managed encryption keys.
Why it's wrong here
A KMS key path indicates CMEK, not Google-managed.
The bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK).
Why this is correct
The key path shows a CMEK key.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between default encryption (CMEK or GMEK) and per-object encryption (CSEK), trapping candidates who confuse a configured default KMS key with the absence of encryption or with customer-supplied keys.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The output clearly shows a default encryption key.
Detailed technical explanation
CMEK uses Cloud KMS to wrap the data encryption keys (DEKs) that encrypt object data; the bucket stores the KMS key resource name, and every object written without an explicit key uses that KMS key for envelope encryption. Under the hood, Cloud Storage calls Cloud KMS to generate and wrap DEKs, ensuring the customer controls key rotation and access via IAM. A real-world scenario is compliance requirements (e.g., HIPAA, PCI-DSS) where the customer must manage key lifecycle and audit key usage.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
The correct answer is: The bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK). — The output shows `default_kms_key_name` is set to a Cloud KMS key resource name (e.g., `projects/<project>/locations/<location>/keyRings/<keyring>/cryptoKeys/<key>`), which indicates the bucket uses a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK). CMEK allows you to control and manage the key via Cloud KMS, while Google manages the underlying encryption operations.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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