Why data sovereignty is not just a legal concern but a cybersecurity imperative

Digital sovereignty is rapidly becoming a cybersecurity consideration, says Trend Micro’s Bharat Mistry. (Image: Shutterstock)

In 2025, data sovereignty has moved beyond its traditional home in compliance departments to become a strategic concern at the highest levels of business. As data becomes increasingly politicised and regulated, the need to know exactly where information resides and under whose laws has turned into a critical risk factor. Cybersecurity leaders now find themselves at the centre of this shift, tasked with managing data sovereignty as both a security imperative and a business enabler.

For years, sovereignty was treated largely as a compliance checkbox. But this is no longer enough. The sheer volume of region-specific legislation, from GDPR in Europe to similar frameworks in Asia and the Americas, has made it impossible to take a one-size-fits-all approach. In addition, recent geopolitical tensions have forced organisations to re-evaluate their reliance on foreign-owned cloud infrastructure. Concerns about third-party risk, surveillance exposure, and loss of legal control are pushing both public and private sector leaders to seek infrastructure that is not only secure but also sovereign.

This renewed focus is transforming how cybersecurity professionals think about risk. Where data is stored is no longer an afterthought. If your data resides in a jurisdiction that allows foreign government access, such as under the US CLOUD Act, you have introduced a risk that no encryption algorithm or firewall can mitigate. It’s a legal vulnerability, not a technical one, but the fallout lands squarely in the lap of security teams when breaches, delays in incident response, or regulatory fines occur.

The result is a necessary convergence of compliance and cybersecurity. These two functions, once siloed by design, are now being forced into collaboration. Security teams must understand legal jurisdictions and, inevitably, compliance leads must get to grips with infrastructure realities. This is not just an operational shift but a cultural one. Security leaders have to embrace a new role that extends beyond defence, acting as navigators through the complex intersection of law, geography, and technology.

As a first step and in order to do this effectively, they must reassess how they evaluate security solutions. The question is no longer just, “Is this secure?” but also, “Where does this store and process data, and under what legal regime?” Leaders have to prioritise platforms that offer jurisdictional transparency, allow for localised data residency, and support sovereign cloud deployments. Key management is another vital area: who holds the encryption keys, and where are they kept? If the answer doesn’t align with your national regulations or risk posture, it’s the wrong solution.

Conversely, ambiguity should be treated as a red flag. Providers that cannot clearly articulate data flows, cross-border transfers, or legal obligations are not future-proof partners. Neither are those that depend on shared key management nor those whose services are governed by foreign legal frameworks with conflicting disclosure rules.

These decisions matter not just for operational resilience but for trust. In an environment where customers and regulators alike are paying close attention to data practices, demonstrating control over data location and access can become a competitive differentiator. It signals a commitment to privacy, transparency, and legal responsibility.

Security leaders must seize this moment to lead with clarity. Data sovereignty is no longer a specialist concern; it’s a strategic one. That means asking tougher questions of suppliers, building deeper partnerships with legal and compliance teams, and embedding jurisdictional awareness into every part of the cybersecurity strategy. Those who get it right won’t just proactively reduce their risk exposure – they’ll also help to define the meaning of trust in the next era of digital business.

Bharat Mistry is Field CTO at Trend Micro

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