Digital sovereignty is one of the most important tech discussions of the moment. It involves not only who controls data but also the autonomy of nations, organisations, and individuals in the digital space. DIgital sovereignty means full control over your own digital footprint; it means avoiding lock-in; but it also means being able to fully understand all interactions between internal and external systems. So that is the crux of the story: control and protect data to remain agile and resilient. But why is this such a challenge – and what is the solution?
The Importance of Digital Sovereignty
The adage “knowledge is power” also applies in a digital world. And while knowledge was previously primarily stored on paper or other physical media, its digital counterpart, ‘data’, has become somewhat intangible for many people; it floats around in the ‘cloud’. Essentially, it is of course physically stored on servers, but thanks to the internet, digital data is more accessible to more people than ever before.
This accessibility brings many advantages, but it also makes data a target for criminals and hostile governments, among others. To prevent data from being stolen or altered, control is needed – sovereignty over the data. A lack of control exposes people and organisations to numerous risks, from identity theft and financial fraud to loss of lives.
The issue of digital sovereignty plays out at different levels. For instance, the control that citizens have over their own data is at the heart of discussions around tracking cookies and the activities of parties that have collected personal data for facial recognition without permission. For organisations, it often revolves around securing business-sensitive information and retaining the freedom and flexibility to be independent of specific commercial suppliers. For governments, digital sovereignty is not only protection against espionage and digital warfare but also, for example, against interference by other governments in domestic policy.