PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
Which Cloud KMS key purpose should be used to encrypt and decrypt data directly?
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
✓
ENCRYPT_DECRYPT
The ENCRYPT_DECRYPT purpose is for symmetric encryption/decryption. ASYMMETRIC_SIGN is for digital signing, ASYMMETRIC_DECRYPT is for asymmetric decryption (e.g., using RSA), and MAC is for message authentication codes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ASYMMETRIC_DECRYPT
Why it's wrong here
Used for asymmetric decryption (e.g., RSA decrypt), not symmetric encryption.
- ✗
ASYMMETRIC_SIGN
Why it's wrong here
Used for digital signatures, not encryption.
- ✓
ENCRYPT_DECRYPT
Why this is correct
This purpose enables symmetric encryption and decryption operations.
- ✗
MAC
Why it's wrong here
MAC purpose is for generating and verifying HMACs, not encryption.
Quick reference
Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Exchange | Signatures | Equivalent Security Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSA-3072 | Yes | Yes | 128-bit | Widely deployed; slow for bulk data |
| ECDSA P-256 | No | Yes | 128-bit | Fast signatures; standard TLS certs |
| ECDH / ECDHE | Yes | No | 128-bit | Perfect forward secrecy in TLS 1.3 |
| DH / DHE | Yes | No | 128-bit (3072-bit key) | Replaced by ECDHE in modern TLS |
| Ed25519 | No | Yes | ~128-bit | SSH keys, modern PKI |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PCSE question is part of Courseiva's 960-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.