Use customer-supplied encryption keys

Overview

This page describes how to use your own encryption key, referred to as a customer-supplied encryption key , with Cloud Storage. For other encryption options in Cloud Storage, see Data Encryption Options .

Generate your own encryption key

There are many ways to generate a Base64-encoded AES-256 encryption key. Here are several examples:

C++

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C++ API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 // Create a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), this is included for
// demonstration purposes only. You should consult your security team about
// best practices to initialize PRNG. In particular, you should verify that
// the C++ library and operating system provide enough entropy to meet the
// security policies in your organization.

// Use the Mersenne-Twister Engine in this example:
//   https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/numeric/random/mersenne_twister_engine
// Any C++ PRNG can be used below, the choice is arbitrary.
using GeneratorType = std::mt19937_64;

// Create the default random device to fetch entropy.
std::random_device rd;

// Compute how much entropy we need to initialize the GeneratorType:
constexpr auto kRequiredEntropyWords =
    GeneratorType::state_size *
    (GeneratorType::word_size / std::numeric_limits<unsigned int>::digits);

// Capture the entropy bits into a vector.
std::vector<std::uint64_t> entropy(kRequiredEntropyWords);
std::generate(entropy.begin(), entropy.end(), [&rd] { return rd(); });

// Create the PRNG with the fetched entropy.
std::seed_seq seed(entropy.begin(), entropy.end());

// initialized with enough entropy such that the encryption keys are not
// predictable. Note that the default constructor for all the generators in
// the C++ standard library produce predictable keys.
std::mt19937_64 gen(seed);

namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
gcs::EncryptionKeyData data = gcs::CreateKeyFromGenerator(gen);

std::cout << "Base64 encoded key = " << data.key << "\n"
          << "Base64 encoded SHA256 of key = " << data.sha256 << "\n"; 

C#

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C# API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 using Google.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;

public class GenerateEncryptionKeySample
{
    public string GenerateEncryptionKey()
    {
        var encryptionKey = EncryptionKey.Generate().Base64Key;
        Console.WriteLine($"Generated Base64-encoded AES-256 encryption key: {encryptionKey}");
        return encryptionKey;
    }
} 

Go

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Go API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import (
	"crypto/rand"
	"encoding/base64"
	"fmt"
	"io"
)

// generateEncryptionKey generates a 256 bit (32 byte) AES encryption key and
// prints the base64 representation.
func generateEncryptionKey(w io.Writer) error {
	// This is included for demonstration purposes. You should generate your own
	// key. Please remember that encryption keys should be handled with a
	// comprehensive security policy.
	key := make([]byte, 32)
	if _, err := rand.Read(key); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("rand.Read: %w", err)
	}
	encryptionKey := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(key)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Generated base64-encoded encryption key: %v\n", encryptionKey)
	return nil
} 

Java

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Java API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import com.google.common.io.BaseEncoding;
import java.security.SecureRandom;

public class GenerateEncryptionKey {
  /**
   * Generates a 256 bit (32 byte) AES encryption key and prints the base64 representation. This is
   * included for demonstration purposes only. You should generate your own key, and consult your
   * security team about best practices. Please remember that encryption keys should be handled with
   * a comprehensive security policy.
   */
  public static void generateEncryptionKey() {
    byte[] key = new byte[32];
    new SecureRandom().nextBytes(key);
    String encryptionKey = BaseEncoding.base64().encode(key);

    System.out.println("Generated Base64-encoded AES-256 encryption key: " + encryptionKey);
  }
} 

Node.js

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Node.js API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 const crypto = require('crypto');

function generateEncryptionKey() {
  /**
   * Generates a 256 bit (32 byte) AES encryption key and prints the base64
   * representation.
   *
   * This is included for demonstration purposes. You should generate your own
   * key. Please remember that encryption keys should be handled with a
   * comprehensive security policy.
   */
  const buffer = crypto.randomBytes(32);
  const encodedKey = buffer.toString('base64');
  console.log(`Base 64 encoded encryption key: ${encodedKey}`);
}
generateEncryptionKey(); 

PHP

For more information, see the Cloud Storage PHP API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 /**
 * Generate a base64 encoded encryption key for Google Cloud Storage.
 */
function generate_encryption_key(): void
{
    $key = random_bytes(32);
    $encodedKey = base64_encode($key);
    printf('Your encryption key: %s' . PHP_EOL, $encodedKey);
} 

Python

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Python API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import base64
import os


def generate_encryption_key():
    """Generates a 256 bit (32 byte) AES encryption key and prints the
    base64 representation.

    This is included for demonstration purposes. You should generate your own
    key. Please remember that encryption keys should be handled with a
    comprehensive security policy.
    """
    key = os.urandom(32)
    encoded_key = base64.b64encode(key).decode("utf-8")

    print(f"Base 64 encoded encryption key: {encoded_key}") 

Ruby

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Ruby API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 def generate_encryption_key
  # Generates a 256 bit (32 byte) AES encryption key and prints the base64 representation.
  #
  # This is included for demonstration purposes. You should generate your own key.
  # Please remember that encryption keys should be handled with a comprehensive security policy.
  require "base64"
  require "openssl"

  encryption_key  = OpenSSL::Cipher.new("aes-256-cfb").encrypt.random_key
  encoded_enc_key = Base64.encode64 encryption_key

  puts "Sample encryption key: #{encoded_enc_key}"
end 

Upload with your encryption key

To use customer-supplied encryption keys to upload an object:

Console

The Google Cloud console cannot be used to upload an object with a customer-supplied encryption key. Use the Google Cloud CLI or the client libraries instead.

Command line

Use the gcloud storage cp command with the --encryption-key flag:

gcloud storage cp SOURCE_DATA 
gs:// BUCKET_NAME 
/ OBJECT_NAME 
--encryption-key= YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY 

Where:

  • SOURCE_DATA is the source location of the data you're encrypting. This can be any source location supported by the cp command. For example, a local file such as Desktop/dogs.png or another Cloud Storage object such as gs://my-bucket/pets/old-dog.png .
  • BUCKET_NAME is the name of the destination bucket for this copy command. For example, my-bucket .
  • OBJECT_NAME is the name of the final, encrypted object. For example, pets/new-dog.png .
  • YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY is the AES-256 key that you want to use for encrypting the uploaded object.

Client libraries

C++

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C++ API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 namespace gcs = ::google::cloud::storage;
using ::google::cloud::StatusOr;
[](gcs::Client client, std::string const& bucket_name,
   std::string const& object_name, std::string const& base64_aes256_key) {
  StatusOr<gcs::ObjectMetadata> object_metadata = client.InsertObject(
      bucket_name, object_name, "top secret",
      gcs::EncryptionKey::FromBase64Key(base64_aes256_key));
  if (!object_metadata) throw std::move(object_metadata).status();

  std::cout << "The object " << object_metadata->name()
            << " was created in bucket " << object_metadata->bucket()
            << "\nFull metadata: " << *object_metadata << "\n";
} 

C#

For more information, see the Cloud Storage C# API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 using Google.Cloud.Storage.V1;
using System;
using System.IO;

public class UploadEncryptedFileSample
{
    public void UploadEncryptedFile(
        string key = "3eFsTXPvqi3BpT2ipFCGirslh1Jgc6ikjoAu2oQ5JcI=",
        string bucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name",
        string localPath = "my-local-path/my-file-name",
        string objectName = "my-file-name")
    {
        var storage = StorageClient.Create();
        using var fileStream = File.OpenRead(localPath);
        storage.UploadObject(bucketName, objectName, null, fileStream, new UploadObjectOptions
        {
            EncryptionKey = EncryptionKey.Create(Convert.FromBase64String(key))
        });
        Console.WriteLine($"Uploaded {objectName}.");
    }
} 

Go

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Go API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"time"

	"cloud.google.com/go/storage"
)

// uploadEncryptedFile writes an object using AES-256 encryption key.
func uploadEncryptedFile(w io.Writer, bucket, object string, secretKey []byte) error {
	// bucket := "bucket-name"
	// object := "object-name"
	// secretKey := []byte("secret-key")
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := storage.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("storage.NewClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second*50)
	defer cancel()

	o := client.Bucket(bucket).Object(object)

	// Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
	// conditions and data corruptions. The request to upload is aborted if the
	// object's generation number does not match your precondition.
	// For an object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
	o = o.If(storage.Conditions{DoesNotExist: true})
	// If the live object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
	// generation-match precondition using the live object's generation number.
	// attrs, err := o.Attrs(ctx)
	// if err != nil {
	// 	return fmt.Errorf("object.Attrs: %w", err)
	// }
	// o = o.If(storage.Conditions{GenerationMatch: attrs.Generation})

	// Encrypt the object's contents.
	wc := o.Key(secretKey).NewWriter(ctx)
	if _, err := wc.Write([]byte("top secret")); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Writer.Write: %w", err)
	}
	if err := wc.Close(); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Writer.Close: %w", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Uploaded encrypted object %v.\n", object)
	return nil
} 

Java

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Java API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import com.google.cloud.storage.BlobId;
import com.google.cloud.storage.BlobInfo;
import com.google.cloud.storage.Storage;
import com.google.cloud.storage.StorageOptions;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class UploadEncryptedObject {
  public static void uploadEncryptedObject(
      String projectId, String bucketName, String objectName, String filePath, String encryptionKey)
      throws IOException {
    // The ID of your GCP project
    // String projectId = "your-project-id";

    // The ID of your GCS bucket
    // String bucketName = "your-unique-bucket-name";

    // The ID of your GCS object
    // String objectName = "your-object-name";

    // The path to your file to upload
    // String filePath = "path/to/your/file"

    // The key to encrypt the object with
    // String encryptionKey = "TIbv/fjexq+VmtXzAlc63J4z5kFmWJ6NdAPQulQBT7g=";

    Storage storage = StorageOptions.newBuilder().setProjectId(projectId).build().getService();
    BlobId blobId = BlobId.of(bucketName, objectName);
    BlobInfo blobInfo = BlobInfo.newBuilder(blobId).build();

    // Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race
    // conditions and data corruptions. The request returns a 412 error if the
    // preconditions are not met.
    Storage.BlobTargetOption precondition;
    if (storage.get(bucketName, objectName) == null) {
      // For a target object that does not yet exist, set the DoesNotExist precondition.
      // This will cause the request to fail if the object is created before the request runs.
      precondition = Storage.BlobTargetOption.doesNotExist();
    } else {
      // If the destination already exists in your bucket, instead set a generation-match
      // precondition. This will cause the request to fail if the existing object's generation
      // changes before the request runs.
      precondition =
          Storage.BlobTargetOption.generationMatch(
              storage.get(bucketName, objectName).getGeneration());
    }

    storage.create(
        blobInfo,
        Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(filePath)),
        Storage.BlobTargetOption.encryptionKey(encryptionKey),
        precondition);

    System.out.println(
        "File "
            + filePath
            + " uploaded to bucket "
            + bucketName
            + " as "
            + objectName
            + " with supplied encryption key");
  }
} 

Node.js

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Node.js API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 /**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
 */
// The ID of your GCS bucket
// const bucketName = 'your-unique-bucket-name';

// The path to your file to upload
// const filePath = 'path/to/your/file';

// The new ID for your GCS file
// const destFileName = 'your-new-file-name';

// The key to encrypt the object with
// const key = 'TIbv/fjexq+VmtXzAlc63J4z5kFmWJ6NdAPQulQBT7g=';

// Imports the Google Cloud client library
const {Storage} = require('@google-cloud/storage');

// Creates a client
const storage = new Storage();

async function uploadEncryptedFile() {
  const options = {
    destination: destFileName,
    encryptionKey: Buffer.from(key, 'base64'),

    // Optional:
    // Set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
    // and data corruptions. The request to upload is aborted if the object's
    // generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
    // object that does not yet exist, set the ifGenerationMatch precondition to 0
    // If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
    // generation-match precondition using its generation number.
    preconditionOpts: {ifGenerationMatch: generationMatchPrecondition},
  };

  await storage.bucket(bucketName).upload(filePath, options);

  console.log(
    `File ${filePath} uploaded to gs://${bucketName}/${destFileName}`
  );
}

uploadEncryptedFile().catch(console.error); 

PHP

For more information, see the Cloud Storage PHP API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient;

/**
 * Upload an encrypted file.
 *
 * @param string $bucketName The name of your Cloud Storage bucket.
 *        (e.g. 'my-bucket')
 * @param string $objectName The name of your Cloud Storage object.
 *        (e.g. 'my-object')
 * @param string $source The path to the file to upload.
 *        (e.g. '/path/to/your/file')
 * @param string $base64EncryptionKey The base64 encoded encryption key.
 *        (e.g. 'TIbv/fjexq+VmtXzAlc63J4z5kFmWJ6NdAPQulQBT7g=')
 */
function upload_encrypted_object(string $bucketName, string $objectName, string $source, string $base64EncryptionKey): void
{
    $storage = new StorageClient();
    $file = fopen($source, 'r');
    $bucket = $storage->bucket($bucketName);
    $object = $bucket->upload($file, [
        'name' => $objectName,
        'encryptionKey' => $base64EncryptionKey,
    ]);
    printf('Uploaded encrypted %s to gs://%s/%s' . PHP_EOL,
        basename($source), $bucketName, $objectName);
} 

Python

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Python API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 import base64

from google.cloud import storage


def upload_encrypted_blob(
    bucket_name,
    source_file_name,
    destination_blob_name,
    base64_encryption_key,
):
    """Uploads a file to a Google Cloud Storage bucket using a custom
    encryption key.

    The file will be encrypted by Google Cloud Storage and only
    retrievable using the provided encryption key.
    """
    # bucket_name = "your-bucket-name"
    # source_file_name = "local/path/to/file"
    # destination_blob_name = "storage-object-name"
    # base64_encryption_key = "TIbv/fjexq+VmtXzAlc63J4z5kFmWJ6NdAPQulQBT7g="

    storage_client = storage.Client()
    bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)

    # Encryption key must be an AES256 key represented as a bytestring with
    # 32 bytes. Since it's passed in as a base64 encoded string, it needs
    # to be decoded.
    encryption_key = base64.b64decode(base64_encryption_key)
    blob = bucket.blob(
        destination_blob_name, encryption_key=encryption_key
    )

    # Optional: set a generation-match precondition to avoid potential race conditions
    # and data corruptions. The request to upload is aborted if the object's
    # generation number does not match your precondition. For a destination
    # object that does not yet exist, set the if_generation_match precondition to 0.
    # If the destination object already exists in your bucket, set instead a
    # generation-match precondition using its generation number.
    generation_match_precondition = 0

    blob.upload_from_filename(source_file_name, if_generation_match=generation_match_precondition)

    print(
        f"File {source_file_name} uploaded to {destination_blob_name}."
    ) 

Ruby

For more information, see the Cloud Storage Ruby API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Cloud Storage, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

 def upload_encrypted_file bucket_name:, local_file_path:, file_name: nil, encryption_key:
  # The ID of your GCS bucket
  # bucket_name = "your-unique-bucket-name"

  # The path to your file to upload
  # local_file_path = "/local/path/to/file.txt"

  # The ID of your GCS object
  # file_name = "your-file-name"

  # The key to encrypt the object with
  # encryption_key = "TIbv/fjexq+VmtXzAlc63J4z5kFmWJ6NdAPQulQBT7g="

  require "google/cloud/storage"

  storage = Google::Cloud::Storage.new

  bucket = storage.bucket bucket_name, skip_lookup: true

  file = bucket.create_file local_file_path, file_name, encryption_key: encryption_key

  puts "Uploaded #{file.name} with encryption key"
end