Privacy and Legislation: Where Is Your Data Stored?
15 November 2022In the Netherlands, personal data must be protected. This also applies to countries within the European Union (EU). All member states must comply with GDPR legislation. Many companies don't realize that by using certain cloud services, they may unknowingly store data in countries outside the EU. How safe is that, and is it legally allowed?
Does Your ICT Provider Have Its Own Data Center in the Netherlands?
Not all local ICT providers have their own data center in the Netherlands. When migrating data to the cloud or using a cloud service, your ICT provider may rely on external parties that specialize in maintaining data centers.
Cloud data is often stored and backed up across multiple locations and countries. This means you may be subject to foreign laws. In the Netherlands and the EU, there are clear rules for storing personal data—rules that don't apply everywhere.
Except for a few countries, storing personal data of EU citizens abroad is prohibited. If it happens, companies (or their ICT partners) must make additional agreements to ensure the data is sufficiently protected.
Read more about these agreements on the Dutch Data Protection Authority website.
Do You Know Where All Your Data Is Stored?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Where was the data collected?
- Who is allowed to process the data?
- Who are your IT partner's data storage partners?
Own Data Center
All customer data is stored in the Netherlands across three locations. Infracom has its own data center in Amsterdam.
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