Quick Answer
The answer is Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS). This is the correct choice because Cloud KMS is the dedicated Google Cloud service for managing the full lifecycle of customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK), including creation, rotation, and destruction, while integrating directly with services like Cloud Storage and BigQuery to enforce encryption at rest under your control. On the Google Professional Cloud Architect exam, this question tests your understanding of data sovereignty and compliance controls, often appearing as a scenario where a company must meet strict regulatory requirements by retaining ownership of key material. A common trap is confusing CMEK with CSEK (customer-supplied encryption keys), but remember that CMEK uses keys stored and managed in Cloud KMS, whereas CSEK requires you to supply your own key material on every API call. Memory tip: think of CMEK as “Cloud-Managed Encryption Keys” where you control the lifecycle, but Google manages the infrastructure.
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design for security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company is migrating its on-premises workloads to Google Cloud. They have strict compliance requirements that all data at rest must be encrypted with customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK). Which Google Cloud service should they use to manage the lifecycle of these keys?
Secret Manager
Why wrong: Secret Manager stores secrets, not key lifecycle management.
Cloud External Key Manager (Cloud EKM)
Why wrong: Cloud EKM is for managing keys outside Google Cloud.
Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS)
Cloud KMS is the correct service for managing CMEK.
Cloud Hardware Security Module (Cloud HSM)
Why wrong: Cloud HSM provides hardware-backed keys but management is still done via Cloud KMS.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS)
Cloud KMS is the correct service because it provides centralized management of customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) for Google Cloud services. It allows you to create, rotate, destroy, and set permissions on symmetric and asymmetric keys, and integrates directly with services like Cloud Storage, BigQuery, and Compute Engine to enforce encryption at rest with keys you control.
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.
Secret Manager
Why it's wrong here
Secret Manager stores secrets, not key lifecycle management.
Cloud External Key Manager (Cloud EKM)
Why it's wrong here
Cloud EKM is for managing keys outside Google Cloud.
Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS)
Why this is correct
Cloud KMS is the correct service for managing CMEK.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cloud Hardware Security Module (Cloud HSM)
Why it's wrong here
Cloud HSM provides hardware-backed keys but management is still done via Cloud KMS.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Cloud HSM as a key management service, but Cloud HSM is a key storage backend for Cloud KMS, not a replacement for lifecycle management; you must use Cloud KMS to control key creation, rotation, and destruction even when using HSM-backed keys.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud KMS uses a hierarchical key model: a key ring contains one or more cryptographic keys, and each key can have multiple versions (e.g., for rotation). When you enable CMEK on a Google Cloud resource, you specify a Cloud KMS key resource name, and the service uses envelope encryption: a data encryption key (DEK) is generated locally, encrypted with a key encryption key (KEK) stored in Cloud KMS, and the wrapped DEK is stored alongside the data. This ensures that even if the storage infrastructure is compromised, the data remains encrypted without direct access to the KEK.
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
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FAQ
Design for security and compliance — This question tests Design for security and compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) — Cloud KMS is the correct service because it provides centralized management of customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) for Google Cloud services. It allows you to create, rotate, destroy, and set permissions on symmetric and asymmetric keys, and integrates directly with services like Cloud Storage, BigQuery, and Compute Engine to enforce encryption at rest with keys you control.
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 11, 2026
This PCA 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 PCA exam.
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