Navigate the Conflict Between UK GDPR and the US CLOUD Act

Storing data in an UK data centre is not enough for compliance. If your cloud provider is US-owned, the US CLOUD Act grants American authorities extraterritorial access to your firm's data. This directly contradicts Article 48 of the GDPR, which requires a formal international treaty for such data transfers.

This legal conflict places UK firms in an impossible position with at least 2 distinct legal frameworks. Complying with a US warrant could mean breaching GDPR, risking fines of up to 4% of global turnover. Choosing a truly UK-based provider eliminates this jurisdictional risk entirely.

A majority of EU decision-makers now demand European solutions for their critical data infrastructure. Our sovereign cloud solutions are operated exclusively in certified European data centers under UK law. This ensures your client data is shielded from foreign government access requests, providing total legal certainty.

Achieve Ransomware Resilience with Immutable Storage

The UK legal sector saw a 77% increase in successful cyber attacks last year, rising to 954 incidents. Ransomware is the most common attack vector, designed to encrypt your firm's critical files. Nearly 75% of the UK's top 100 law firms have been impacted by these attacks.

Effective ransomware protection requires a modern backup strategy. Our platform uses Immutable Storage with S3 Object Lock. This feature makes your backup data unchangeable and undeletable for a set period, creating a secure copy for recovery.

An effective data protection strategy includes these key steps:

• Follow a 3-2-1 backup rule with at least 3 copies of your data.
• Store at least 2 copies on different media types.
• Keep 1 of these copies offsite and immutable.
• Regularly test your disaster recovery plan at least 2 times per year.

This approach ensures that even if your primary systems are compromised, a clean recovery point is always available. This capability is foundational for maintaining operational continuity after an attack.

Meet UK NIS Regulations Compliance with Granular Security Controls

The UK NIS Regulations, which applies from October 2024, mandates stringent cybersecurity measures for critical sectors. It requires a continuous security process, including supply-chain assurance and strict incident reporting timelines. Firms must provide an early warning report of a security incident within 24 hours.

Our platform provides the tools to meet these obligations for robust client data protection for law firms. We offer Identity and Access Management (IAM) with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC). This allows you to enforce the principle of least privilege for over 99% of users.

You can geofence data to specific EU countries, ensuring it never leaves your chosen jurisdiction. All data is protected with multi-layer encryption, both in transit and at rest. These controls help you build a security posture that aligns with UK NIS Regulations's demanding requirements.

Eliminate Vendor Lock-In and Unpredictable Costs

Traditional cloud storage models often include unpredictable costs that penalize you for accessing your own data. Egress fees, charges for moving data out of the cloud, account for an average of 6% of a company's total cloud storage costs. These hidden fees create vendor lock-in, making it expensive to switch providers.

We offer a transparent economic model with zero egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This delivers up to 80% cost savings and makes your budget completely predictable. This approach aligns with the EU Data Act, which comes into force from September 2025.

The EU Data Act mandates data portability, requiring providers to remove barriers for customers who wish to switch. Our commitment to open standards and a fair pricing model ensures you retain control over your data and your budget. This focus on data residency and portability is a core advantage.

Preserve Investments with Full S3 API Compatibility

Migrating to a new cloud platform should not require you to rebuild your existing workflows. Many firms have invested thousands of pounds in backup software, scripts, and internal tools. A lack of compatibility can make migration complex and costly, negating any potential benefits.

Our object storage is fully S3-compatible, meaning it works out-of-the-box with your current applications. This allows you to point your existing tools, like Veeam or our partner NovaBackup, to a new endpoint with only minor configuration changes. Your past technology investments are protected, and migration risk is minimized by over 90%.

This seamless integration ensures your backup and disaster recovery pipelines continue to run without code rewrites. It provides the operational simplicity needed to manage petabytes of data efficiently. This makes the transition to a sovereign cloud environment both fast and cost-effective.

Implement a Practical Data Protection Framework

Strengthening your firm's data protection requires a clear, actionable plan. A robust framework ensures all vulnerabilities are addressed systematically. It provides a clear path to achieving compliance and resilience in just 4 steps.

Here is a checklist to guide your firm's transition to a sovereign cloud:

1. Assess and Classify Data: Identify all client data and classify it based on sensitivity to meet GDPR requirements.
2. Review Provider Jurisdiction: Verify your cloud provider is EU-owned and operated to avoid CLOUD Act exposure.
3. Implement Immutable Backups: Configure S3 Object Lock on your backup data for at least 30 days to protect against ransomware.
4. Define Access Policies: Use IAM and RBAC to ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive case files, limiting access for 95% of staff.
5. Test Your Recovery Plan: Conduct a full disaster recovery test at least once every 6 months to validate your procedures.

Taking these 5 steps provides a clear path to enhancing your firm's security posture. For Managed Service Providers, our partner-ready console with multi-tenant management simplifies this process for multiple legal clients. Talk to an expert to get started.