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Data encryption and encryption keys
This page provides information about encryption of data on Google Cloud and
about encryption keys.
Encryption in transit and at rest
Google Cloud enables
encryption in transit by default to encrypt
requests before transmission and to protect the raw data using the Transport
Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
Once data is transferred to Google Cloud to be stored, Google Cloud
applies encryption at rest by
default. To gain more control over how data is encrypted at rest,
Google Cloud customers can use Cloud Key Management Service to generate, use,
rotate, and destroy encryption keys according to their own policies. These keys
are called customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK).
For certain control packages, Assured Workloads can deploy a CMEK
project alongside your resources project
when you create an Assured Workloads folder.
As an alternative to CMEK, Google-owned and Google-managed encryption keys, provided by default,
are FIPS-140-2
compliant and are able to support most control packages in
Assured Workloads. Customers can delete the CMEK project and rely
solely on Google-owned and Google-managed encryption keys. We recommend, however, that you decide whether to
use CMEK keys before you create your Assured Workloads folder as
deletion of existing in-use CMEK can result in inability to access or recover
data.
Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK)
If you need more control over the keys used to encrypt data at rest within a
Google Cloud project than what Google Cloud's default encryption
provides, Google Cloud services offer the ability to protect data by using
encryption keys managed by the customer within Cloud KMS. These
encryption keys are called customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK).
To learn which aspects of the lifecycle and management of your keys that CMEK
provides, see Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) in
Cloud KMS documentation. For a tutorial that guides you through
managing keys and encrypted data using Cloud KMS, see the
quickstart or
codelab.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Cloud employs default encryption for data both in transit, using TLS, and at rest, ensuring data protection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCustomers can utilize Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) to create, manage, rotate, and destroy their own encryption keys, known as customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK), for enhanced control over data at rest.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAssured Workloads offers the option to deploy a CMEK project alongside a resources project for specific control packages, allowing customers more control over data encryption.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle-owned and managed encryption keys, which are FIPS-140-2 compliant, are available as a default option and can support most control packages, but it is recommended that you choose between them or CMEK keys before creating your Assured Workloads folder.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCloud KMS provides detailed information and guides on managing CMEK, including tutorials and quickstarts for users seeking to implement customer-managed encryption.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Data encryption and encryption keys\n===================================\n\nThis page provides information about encryption of data on Google Cloud and\nabout encryption keys.\n\nEncryption in transit and at rest\n---------------------------------\n\nGoogle Cloud enables\n[encryption in transit](/security/encryption-in-transit) by default to encrypt\nrequests before transmission and to protect the raw data using the Transport\nLayer Security (TLS) protocol.\n\nOnce data is transferred to Google Cloud to be stored, Google Cloud\napplies [encryption at rest](/security/encryption/default-encryption) by\ndefault. To gain more control over how data is encrypted at rest,\nGoogle Cloud customers can use [Cloud Key Management Service](/kms) to generate, use,\nrotate, and destroy encryption keys according to their own policies. These keys\nare called customer-managed encryption keys ([CMEK](/kms/docs/cmek)).\n\nFor certain control packages, Assured Workloads can deploy a CMEK\nproject alongside your [resources project](/assured-workloads/docs/key-concepts#resources)\nwhen you create an Assured Workloads folder.\n\nAs an alternative to CMEK, Google-owned and Google-managed encryption keys, provided by default,\nare [FIPS-140-2](https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/fips/140/2/final)\ncompliant and are able to support most control packages in\nAssured Workloads. Customers can delete the CMEK project and rely\nsolely on Google-owned and Google-managed encryption keys. We recommend, however, that you decide whether to\nuse CMEK keys before you create your Assured Workloads folder as\ndeletion of existing in-use CMEK can result in inability to access or recover\ndata.\n\nCustomer-managed encryption keys (CMEK)\n---------------------------------------\n\nIf you need more control over the keys used to encrypt data at rest within a\nGoogle Cloud project than what Google Cloud's default encryption\nprovides, Google Cloud services offer the ability to protect data by using\nencryption keys managed by the customer within Cloud KMS. These\nencryption keys are called customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK).\n\nTo learn which aspects of the lifecycle and management of your keys that CMEK\nprovides, see [Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK)](/kms/docs/cmek) in\nCloud KMS documentation. For a tutorial that guides you through\nmanaging keys and encrypted data using Cloud KMS, see the\n[quickstart](/kms/docs/quickstart) or\n[codelab](https://codelabs.developers.google.com/codelabs/encrypt-and-decrypt-data-with-cloud-kms).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn more about [creating a symmetrical key with Cloud KMS](/kms/docs/creating-keys)."]]
