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PROFESSIONAL-CLOUD-ARCHITECT · Question #364

You are deploying a highly confidential data processing workload on Google Cloud. Your company's compliance framework mandates that cryptographic keys used for encrypting data at rest must be…

The correct answer is C. Create a new key in Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) with the HSM protection level. Creating a Cloud KMS key with the HSM protection level ensures that cryptographic keys are generated, stored, and used exclusively within Google-managed, FIPS 140-2 validated hardware security modules. This fully integrated managed service meets strict compliance requirements…

Submitted by sofia.br· Mar 30, 2026Designing for security and compliance

Question

You are deploying a highly confidential data processing workload on Google Cloud. Your company's compliance framework mandates that cryptographic keys used for encrypting data at rest must be generated and stored exclusively within a validated Hardware Security Module (HSM). You want to use a fully integrated Google Cloud managed service to handle the lifecycle and usage of these keys. What should you do?

Options

  • AUse Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK) by providing your on-premises generated key
  • BImport your on-premises HSM key material into a Cloud KMS key with the SOFTWARE protection
  • CCreate a new key in Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) with the HSM protection level.
  • DConfigure Cloud External Key Manager (Cloud EKM) to connect to your on-premises HSM.

How the community answered

(24 responses)
  • A
    13% (3)
  • B
    8% (2)
  • C
    75% (18)
  • D
    4% (1)

Explanation

Creating a Cloud KMS key with the HSM protection level ensures that cryptographic keys are generated, stored, and used exclusively within Google-managed, FIPS 140-2 validated hardware security modules. This fully integrated managed service meets strict compliance requirements while minimizing operational overhead for key lifecycle management.

Topics

#Cloud KMS#HSM protection level#encryption keys#compliance

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