Following recent UK and US privacy scandals, three quarters (76%) of IT decision makers would move their organisation’s data to another country as a result of privacy concerns. That’s according to a new report from secure data centre provider Artmotion, which surveyed 1000 IT decision makers across the UK and US. Titled “Defending Data Privacy”, the report warns of a “mass exodus” of data, with businesses moving away from UK and US data hosts as a result of growing concerns surrounding government snooping. According to Artmotion’s survey, nearly 1 in 5 UK IT decision makers would no longer be willing to host their data inside the United Kingdom. The figure is even higher for the US, where NSA spying has left many businesses fearful of their own government’s surveillance programs. This concern is even spreading to the board, with 29% of CEOs now placing data protection high up on their corporate agendas.
In an effort to avoid such snooping, many IT deparments are looking to relocate their information to nations with stronger data protection legislation. Top amongst these nations were Canada and Switzerland, which received high levels of trust as a result of their independent position outside of US and EU jurisdiction.
Commenting on these findings, Mateo Meier, CEO of Artmotion said: “By choosing to move their information away from the UK and US, IT decision makers are voting in favour of data privacy. They are telling the government that strong encryption and data security are vital parts of an organisation’s core business strategy, both in terms of defending their customers’ rights, and in protecting their own corporate assets.
“At the end of the day, privacy is a right. Customers want it, and businesses should want to provide it. The only question for IT departments is – how?”
