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    PracticeGCP Professional Cloud ArchitectGCP Professional Cloud Architect Practice Exam 7Question 17
    Medium1 markMultiple Choice
    Subtask 3.1: Design for SecurityCMEKCloud KMSEncryptionSecurity
    This question is part of a case study — click to read the full scenario(Case 16)

    CASE STUDY: HealthSecure

    Company Overview:
    HealthSecure provides electronic health record (EHR) systems and telemedicine platforms to hospitals across North America. They handle highly sensitive patient data.

    Current Technical Environment:

    • Co-located data centers with strict physical security.
    • Monolithic .NET applications running on Windows Server.
    • Microsoft SQL Server databases.
    • Custom-built video streaming solution for telemedicine.

    Business Requirements:

    • Migrate to the cloud to improve scalability during telemedicine surges.
    • Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA and HITECH regulations.
    • Enable interoperability with other healthcare providers using FHIR standards.

    Executive Statements:

    • CEO: "Telemedicine is exploding. We need to scale instantly to meet patient demand."
    • Chief Risk Officer (CRO): "Security and compliance are our license to operate. A data breach would destroy us."
    • CTO: "We want to leverage cloud-native AI/ML for medical image analysis in the future."

    Technical Requirements:

    • End-to-end encryption for all data at rest and in transit.
    • Strict network isolation to prevent data exfiltration.
    • Comprehensive audit logging of all data access.
    • High availability across multiple regions.

    Constraints:

    • Must use Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK).
    • Third-party auditors require detailed compliance reports.
    • Legacy .NET applications cannot be easily containerized without refactoring.

    QUESTION:
    To meet the CRO's requirement for strict network isolation and prevent data exfiltration of sensitive patient records, which GCP security feature must be implemented?

    View full case study page →

    GCP PCA · Question 17 · Design for Security

    CASE STUDY: HealthSecure

    Company Overview:
    HealthSecure provides electronic health record (EHR) systems and telemedicine platforms to hospitals across North America. They handle highly sensitive patient data.

    Current Technical Environment:

    • Co-located data centers with strict physical security.
    • Monolithic .NET applications running on Windows Server.
    • Microsoft SQL Server databases.
    • Custom-built video streaming solution for telemedicine.

    Business Requirements:

    • Migrate to the cloud to improve scalability during telemedicine surges.
    • Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA and HITECH regulations.
    • Enable interoperability with other healthcare providers using FHIR standards.

    Executive Statements:

    • CEO: "Telemedicine is exploding. We need to scale instantly to meet patient demand."
    • Chief Risk Officer (CRO): "Security and compliance are our license to operate. A data breach would destroy us."
    • CTO: "We want to leverage cloud-native AI/ML for medical image analysis in the future."

    Technical Requirements:

    • End-to-end encryption for all data at rest and in transit.
    • Strict network isolation to prevent data exfiltration.
    • Comprehensive audit logging of all data access.
    • High availability across multiple regions.

    Constraints:

    • Must use Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK).
    • Third-party auditors require detailed compliance reports.
    • Legacy .NET applications cannot be easily containerized without refactoring.

    QUESTION:
    How should you implement the encryption requirement to satisfy the constraint of using Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK)?

    Answer options:

    A.

    Rely on Google's default encryption at rest, as it automatically rotates keys and is HIPAA compliant.

    B.

    Generate keys in Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) and configure GCP services (like Cloud Storage and Compute Engine) to use these keys for encryption at rest.

    C.

    Provide your own encryption keys in a text file stored in a secure Cloud Storage bucket and reference them in application code.

    D.

    Use Customer-Supplied Encryption Keys (CSEK) by keeping the keys on-premises and sending them with every API request.

    How to approach this question

    Match the acronym CMEK to the correct GCP service (Cloud KMS) and its integration with storage/compute services.

    Full Answer

    B.Generate keys in Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) and configure GCP services (like Cloud Storage and Compute Engine) to use these keys for encryption at rest.✓ Correct
    Generate keys in Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) and configure GCP services (like Cloud Storage and Compute Engine) to use these keys for encryption at rest.
    Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) are managed using Google Cloud Key Management Service (KMS). This allows HealthSecure to control the key rotation schedule and instantly revoke access to data by destroying the key, which is a common requirement for strict healthcare compliance.

    Common mistakes

    Choosing default encryption (Option A) ignores the explicit constraint in the case study.
    Question 16All questionsQuestion 18

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