Introduction

Data sovereignty is not a law or group of regulations itself, but an idea that data depends on the governance structures and laws from where one collects it. For example, an organization in the US will have to obey the GDPR (Union General Data Protection Regulation) of Europe, if the data was from Italy. Similarly, if the data is from California, the organization has to obey the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act).

One must understand this concept as the sovereignty laws vary from region to region. Things can get difficult as over 100 countries now have laws with respect to data sovereignty.

Data sovereignty: The challenges with Compliance

As over 100 countries now have data sovereignty laws, things can get difficult. This holds specifically true for larger organizations that will be working with data from several territories. Following are some of the challenges with compliance.

Changing Laws

It is still a new idea, which means that relevant laws evolve quickly as countries discover and navigate new situations. These changes can make environment difficult for businesses to remain reactive.

Business Growth

An organization expanding is great news. However, it also makes things difficult when it comes to data. The more data a business has, and the more territories it operates in, the more difficult it will become to understand the data sovereignty laws it needs to comply with.

Data Mobility

Data mobility means getting data as and when one needs it. Sovereignty laws can restrict that mobility. It can also result in extra limitations on how organizations can move data between two countries. Also, specific services and cloud locations may not be able to be used. There may also be rules regarding encryption degree for data while it is in at rest and in transit. This brings issues such as cyber protections, data transfer methods, and network security and system.

Technological Transparency

To prove compliance with data sovereignty laws, one should be able to specify how to handle a client’s sensitive data.

Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure is present over multiple territories, leading to its issues. If one is not careful, one may find that cloud deployment extends into countries with various laws. Certain data sovereignty regulations also command where data can be processed, which can restrict the choices in terms of cloud services.

Data Sovereignty Best Practices

Applying data sovereignty practices to a business can be challenging, particularly when you add cloud infrastructure. Organizations should be aware of the regulatory and legal environment and maintain complete compliance by deploying cloud data sovereignty best practices. Some best practices are:

Work with leading cloud providers

Most customers turn to leading cloud providers such as Microsoft and AWS as they can safely depend on them for data sovereignty compliance. Yes, flexibility, cost, and availability are factors.

Keep things simple

Any organization present on a global scale will face challenges regarding ensuring compliance over multiple territories. That is why it is essential to simplify. One way to do this is to uniformly deploy measures that enable one to comply with the best data protection laws.

Know where your backups are

It is essential that you know where your backups are available, as they are also subject to data sovereignty laws. We recommend that you get an inventory of all your backups to ensure your safety. This could either mean relocating the backups, complying with local regulations, or even destroying the backups.