Digital Sovereignty: Definition and Challenges for Your Business
The Internet has profoundly changed our society in every way: economic, social and cultural. Until recently, the issue of collecting and using users' personal data had never really been raised. But things have changed since the Snowden case and in the face of the rise in cybercrime. Following the numerous piracy and data theft scandals (Facebook, Yahoo, TV5, the American elections, etc.), Internet users are now worried about the confidentiality of their private lives and the security of their personal information. Cybersecurity has become a central issue. According to the 2018 Norton LifeLock Cyber Safety Insights report, two out of three French people (67%) say they are more concerned than ever about respecting their personal data on the Internet. 97% of respondents believe that companies should give them a right to control the use of their data. Finally, 95% of French people do not trust social networks to manage and protect their personal data. Faced with the situation, the term “digital sovereignty” has emerged.
Digital sovereignty has been at the heart of the news since the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25, 2018. The concept of “digital sovereignty” emerged in the 2010s. This concept relates to the storage and protection of individual personal data in digital form. According to TheWindowsClub, digital sovereignty concerns the fact of holding the personal data of users, collected by the websites of various companies on the web, with or without the consent of the users. It refers to the authority and control of individuals over their presence or representation in the digital world. The idea is that personal data stored on the Internet should be kept in the country in which the person resides and should therefore be subject to the law of the country in question. According to The Institute of Digital Sovereignty, cyberspace must be protected, in the same way as land, sea and air spaces.
The challenges of digital sovereignty
A senatorial commission of inquiry devoted to digital sovereignty began its hearings on May 16. Its objective is to reflect on France's digital sovereignty and find ways to regain it. This commission was created following a report which drew up a worrying observation: “the digital ecosystem is controlled and shaped by ever more powerful players, digital giants, especially American ones (we think in particular of the GAFA, i.e. Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon), but not only that, who crush the markets and place us in a situation of technological dependence and place us in a situation of technological dependence, issue their own standards, pursue their own goals and serve their own interests.” Author of the book Digital Sovereignty, Pierre Bellanger, founder and CEO of Skyrock, affirms that “Digital sovereignty is the control of our present and our destiny as they are manifested and oriented through the use of technologies and computer networks. Data, our memory, our projects, our calculations, our calculations, our exchanges, our documents must imperatively reside on the national territory under the protection of our laws and our courts.” The question of the place and conditions of data storage is a major issue of digital sovereignty. But there are many other cybersecurity challenges.
1. Strategic challenges
It is necessary to avoid the leak of French data abroad, and especially in the United States. It is important to maintain an autonomous capacity for appreciation, decision and action. Finally, it is essential to preserve national sovereignty in the face of the new threats generated by the increasing digitization of society.
2. Economic challenges
No society is immune to scientific, economic, and commercial espionage. The protection of French companies and the confidentiality of their data are therefore essential. Hence the importance of ensuring that this data remains hosted on French soil. Digital sovereignty is also a way to fight against the purchase and use of data for commercial and marketing purposes, without the consent of the persons concerned.
3. Political issues
Digital sovereignty is a way for the administration and institutions to restore citizens' confidence in the State, and to participate in their protection as well as in the protection of their privacy and personal data. It must also allow the protection of critical infrastructures for States.
4. National security issues
Cybercrime, hacking, manipulation, sabotage, terrorism, etc., today, computer security has become a national security issue. Every day, states, businesses and citizens are confronted with major threats (identity theft, bank card fraud, terrorism, etc.). We remember the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal when data collected without users' knowledge was used to influence voting intentions. One of the major challenges of digital sovereignty is therefore to make cyberspace safer for citizens as well as for businesses and the State.
Solutions
Are you working on important projects and dealing with sensitive data? Worried about the security of your data? Today, there are tools and software that guarantee the security, confidentiality, and sovereignty of your data. This is the case of Wimi, a collaborative suite highly secure, ideal for managing your sensitive projects. This collaborative solution offers you all the functionalities essential for the effective management of your projects (instant messaging, Gantt, calendar, etc.), while offering end-to-end encryption, a reinforced authentication system and hosting of your data in metropolitan France.
To conclude
We are witnessing a real awareness of the importance of keeping our data on French territory. Mentalities are changing and laws are being passed such as the law for a digital republic (promulgated on October 7, 2016) at the national level or even the RGPD at the European level. As a citizen or business, you should carefully choose the tools and websites you want to trust.
