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ACE Practice Question: Your company's compliance policy requires that…
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of your company's compliance policy requires that…. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Your company's compliance policy requires that all customer data stored in Cloud Storage must be encrypted using keys stored in a Hardware Security Module (HSM). The encryption keys must be managed by your security team and must not be exportable. Which configuration meets these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Use Cloud KMS software keys (protection level: SOFTWARE) with Cloud Storage CMEK.
Software keys are stored in software (not HSM), which doesn't meet the HSM requirement. SOFTWARE protection level keys are also technically exportable from a design standpoint.
B
Distractor review
Use Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK) managed by your security team.
CSEK requires the customer to supply key material with every API call — your security team would need to store the key externally (not in HSM). Also, CSEK has no HSM backing in GCP.
C
Best answer
Use Cloud KMS HSM-backed keys (protection level: HSM) with Cloud Storage CMEK.
HSM protection level keys are generated and stored inside FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs. They are non-exportable by design. CMEK with Cloud KMS HSM keys gives your team control while meeting HSM and non-exportability requirements.
D
Distractor review
Enable Google-managed encryption with HSM by selecting it in Cloud Storage settings.
Google-managed encryption uses Google's key management, not your security team's control. There's no user-facing option to select HSM for Google-managed keys.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Related practice questions
Related ACE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
What is the correct order of the Google Cloud resource hierarchy from highest to lowest level?
Question 2
A compliance archive stores legal documents accessed at most once per quarter. Which Cloud Storage class minimizes storage cost while meeting that access pattern?
Question 3
Which gcloud command creates a Compute Engine VM named 'web-01' using the e2-medium machine type in zone us-central1-a?
Question 4
A team wants to receive an email alert when the average CPU utilization of VMs in a managed instance group exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes. What should they create in Cloud Monitoring?
Question 5
A junior developer needs read-only access to all GCP resources in a project. Which IAM role grants the minimum permissions required?
Question 6
A startup creates its first Google Cloud project. Before deploying any paid resources, what must be linked to the project?
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Cloud KMS HSM-backed keys (protection level: HSM) with Cloud Storage CMEK. — Cloud KMS provides HSM-backed key protection through Cloud HSM. Keys created with the `HSM` protection level are generated and stored inside FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated hardware modules. HSM keys cannot be exported (the private key material never leaves the HSM). Using CMEK with Cloud KMS HSM keys for Cloud Storage combines customer key management with HSM protection and non-exportability — meeting all stated requirements.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which ACE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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This ACE 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 ACE exam.