Why sovereignty has become the new measure of cyber resilience

Date:
Mon, 08 Jun 2026 08:53:28 +0000

Description:
Businesses have put their data in the cloud in pursuit of efficiency and
lower costs, but unwittingly ceded control over their own data.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter In 2026, national economies run on data. The health of data centers and other critical IT infrastructure now determines the resilience and competitiveness of entire countries, and weve seen global corporations and public services brought to their knees by a single breach.

At the end of last year, the Bank of England linked a slowdown in UK GDP to the Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack, showing how a severe incident can ripple across the whole economy. Warren ODriscoll Social Links Navigation

Head of Security Practice at NTT DATA UK&I. For a decade, businesses have
been racing to put their data into cloud storage in pursuit of greater efficiency and lower costs. It was the obvious choice for those looking to gain instant scalability without the capital burden of owning and operating data centers. But in chasing convenience, many unwittingly ceded control over their own data. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

The problem lies in where and how organizations' data is stored. Much of the worlds critical data, from financial systems to healthcare records, now sits in data centers owned or operated by overseas entities, governed by foreign laws, and managed beyond domestic oversight. Few boards fully recognized that outsourcing their infrastructure meant surrendering visibility, and ultimately, control.

Today, as geopolitical tensions flare and cyber espionage actors adopt new AI tools , that trade-off is catching up with us. Governments and enterprises
are waking up to the fact that you cant secure what you dont control. You may like Tech sovereignty: Why one size doesnt fit all Why digital sovereignty is becoming a priority for every industry Why our national sovereignty depends
on cyber resilience Drivers of sovereignty: Why control matters more than
ever Data sovereignty means very different things to different people. For some, its simply about where data is stored - a matter of residency. But
thats a dangerously narrow view. True sovereignty is about control: your ability to retain full legal and operational authority over your data. That involves having control over who can access it, how its processed, and under which jurisdiction its governed.

The world is only now starting to come to terms with the limits on our
control over our data. Years of outsourcing critical infrastructure to third parties abroad have created layers of operational dependency that governments are now recognizing as a critical risk. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
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Three key developments are pushing sovereignty to the top of the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and enterprise agenda: 1. The weaponization of digital infrastructure From the sabotage of subsea cables to cyberattacks exploiting cloud supply chains, digital infrastructure has become the target of those looking to exert geopolitical influence or disrupt other sovereign nations.

Incidents targeting communication networks and service providers have
revealed vulnerabilities in our systems; we have only to look at Russias repeated cyber attacks on Ukraines power and telecommunications systems to understand the weak position these put us in. What to read next AI means CIOs need sovereign cloud more than ever Digital sovereignty is no longer a policy debate, its technology decision How EU organizations can turn sovereign cloud theory into action 2. Tightening global regulation The EU Cyber Resilience
Act and NIS2 Directive have meant that company directors and those
responsible for cybersecurity can no longer sweep digital sovereignty under the rug.

These regulations demand accountability throughout supply chains and impose penalties for opaque governance. Similar frameworks are emerging worldwide, redefining how trust is measured and enforced. 3. Eroding trust in overseas data protection Last summer, Microsoft testified before the French
Parliament, admitting it cannot guarantee that data it holds is immune to US government data requests. The statement laid bare the uncomfortable truth behind so-called local hosting. Your data might sit in a European data
center, but if the owner is headquartered in a foreign jurisdiction, it is
not safe from extraterritorial access.

The reality is that cheap digital outsourcing, often to regions linked to adversarial states, has left the democratic world with limited leverage over the supply chains that underpin its economies and facing a rising threat
from well-resourced, state-backed cyber criminals. At the same time, with organizations embracing AI-led transformation, they are generating and processing more sensitive data than ever before; data that embodies their strategic advantage in-market and can be weaponized if exposed.

Sovereignty offers a path back to control. A sovereign environment allows organizations to act decisively, because when breaches occur, they have the legal recourse and operational visibility needed to make informed decisions within their domestic sphere.

So how can organizations move towards sovereignty? Building resilience
through real control The bottom line is that organizations shouldnt trust any provider that cant clearly define and prove data sovereignty through contractual assurances. For too long, cloud providers have issued comforting but vague statements about customers data being hosted in domestic data centers. But they havent told the full story. Real sovereignty relies on the company in question knowing exactly who can access their data, how that
access is governed, and under which laws.

The UK Government has been very clear about its ambition to make the country
a global leader in secure, trusted digital services. Its AI Opportunities Action Plan offered a roadmap for safe, scalable digital transformation
across the economy. But that goal wont be achieved if organizations and their supply chains dont have a clear line of sight over where data lives and who controls it. Procurement across Critical National Infrastructure and the public sector, in particular, will now prioritize providers that offer
genuine legal and jurisdictional control. Visibility: The cornerstone of sovereignty Too often, procurement teams treat digital infrastructure as a race to the bottom on cost, without fully understanding the associated risks. When contracts go to the lowest bidder, and people sweep awkward questions about access and governance under the rug, you get a false economy: any savings you gain on paper vanish the moment a breach occurs or when an threat actor seizes control of your sensitive data.

Visibility must become a baseline expectation at every stage of engagement with a cloud provider. Decision-makers should demand end-to-end transparency from suppliers, including auditable oversight of data handling and identity verification. Providers must also be required to disclose, in writing, any legal obligations to foreign governments.

Weve already seen the impact that cyberattacks can have on companies and entire economies. M&S has acknowledged that last years cyber attack on its systems will cost it roughly 136 million, and it certainly wont be the last company to experience such a significant loss at the hands of cybercriminals. While you wont eliminate every threat by branding a cloud solution as sovereign, strengthening sovereignty in your data operations will increase your visibility and control, and reduce uncertainty on the users behalf. The path to strategic resilience For years, businesses have prioritized convenience and cost-efficiency, but the trade-off between cheap and easy versus secure and sovereign has reached a natural inflection point.

For a government, investing in sovereign infrastructure and services is key step that organizations can take to help secure national GDP. Along with creating and maintaining domestic jobs it strengthens the governments ability to support and protect business revenues. Its also a huge factor in
continuity of essential services; keeping the lights on when the rest of the world flickers.

The real question for decision-makers now is simple: what is your organization's risk appetite?

How much uncertainty are your shareholders and customers willing to accept when the cost of dependency has become so clear?

Sovereignty will never be absolute in a world defined by interlocked digital infrastructure. However, the pursuit of practical sovereignty, rooted in transparency and domestic control, should be a key organizational and governmental priority: the only real way to ensure long-term resilience.

Sovereignty is also an incredibly complex journey that demands deep collaboration between policymakers, service providers, and most of all
those to whom the data belongs. The destination may be one of greater individual control, but the journey demands collective action. We've featured the best data migration tools . This article was produced as part of
TechRadar Pro Perspectives , our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit



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