- A
Detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key
Detaching and reattaching the disk with the new key is the correct method to rotate a CSEK key.
- B
Rotate the key in Cloud KMS and the disk will automatically use it
Why wrong: CSEK is not managed by Cloud KMS; keys are supplied by the customer directly.
- C
Create a snapshot of the disk and restore it with a new CMEK key
Why wrong: This would change to CMEK, not rotate the CSEK key.
- D
Use gcloud compute disks update with the new key
Why wrong: The 'disks update' command does not support changing CSEK keys directly.
Question 120 of 985
PCSE Ensuring Data Protection Practice Question
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring data protection. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 uses Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK) for Compute Engine persistent disks. They want to rotate the key used for an existing disk without recreating the disk. What must the engineer do?
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
✓
Detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key
Option A is correct because CSEK keys are not stored in Google Cloud; they are provided by the customer at the time of disk attachment. To rotate the key, you must detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key, as the key is only used during the attach operation to encrypt the disk's data encryption keys (DEKs). The disk itself is not re-encrypted; the new key is used to wrap the DEKs for future reads/writes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key
Why this is correct
Detaching and reattaching the disk with the new key is the correct method to rotate a CSEK key.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Rotate the key in Cloud KMS and the disk will automatically use it
Why it's wrong here
CSEK is not managed by Cloud KMS; keys are supplied by the customer directly.
- ✗
Create a snapshot of the disk and restore it with a new CMEK key
Why it's wrong here
This would change to CMEK, not rotate the CSEK key.
- ✗
Use gcloud compute disks update with the new key
Why it's wrong here
The 'disks update' command does not support changing CSEK keys directly.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between CSEK and CMEK, trapping candidates who assume that CSEK keys can be rotated via Cloud KMS or disk update commands, when in fact CSEK requires a detach/reattach workflow.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The 'disks update' command does not support changing CSEK keys directly.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Compute Engine uses a two-tier encryption model: each persistent disk has a DEK that encrypts the data, and the DEK is wrapped by a key encryption key (KEK). With CSEK, the KEK is provided by the customer at attach time and is used to unwrap the DEK in memory; the KEK itself is never stored on Google's servers. Rotating the CSEK key means providing a new KEK to re-wrap the DEK, which only happens during a new attach operation, not via an update command.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Ensuring Data Protection — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCSE question test?
Ensuring Data Protection — This question tests Ensuring Data Protection — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key — Option A is correct because CSEK keys are not stored in Google Cloud; they are provided by the customer at the time of disk attachment. To rotate the key, you must detach the disk and reattach it with the new CSEK key, as the key is only used during the attach operation to encrypt the disk's data encryption keys (DEKs). The disk itself is not re-encrypted; the new key is used to wrap the DEKs for future reads/writes.
What should I do if I get this PCSE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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