Why worry about where your data is hosted?

There are many different things to worry about when starting up a new business or deploying a new website. But we would bet - and we aren't betting people - that where you actually host your website, email, or data isn't very high on the list... if at all. Most of the time the final location comes down to one simple thing; "cost". However, cheap isn't always the best option.

There are literally thousands of hosting providers out there all vying for your business, with the vast majority of them based in countries that now want to monitor data activity (email, telephone, and web usage). Design Pixel originally started out life hosting everything in the UK many years ago, then we decided to restructure as we could see some not very pleasant changes coming.

Looking at the new laws being implemented in the UK we can see that we were right to do so...

BBC News: Email and web use 'to be monitored' under new laws

In this particular case the UK government has made moves to try an allay fears that they will not be collecting data for "snooping". But with the ability to intercept data without a warrant we find this very hard to believe.

It's not just the UK that this is happening in, you could stick a pin in a map and most any country picked out would potentially have it's own version of the soon to be UK legislation. Most certainly the US, UK, and a lot of European Union member states would be a bad place to host you data if your are worried more about data privacy than cost.

Choosing the right jurisdiction

So, we have said where are bad places to host data, but there are still some good places left where you can have a greater peace of mind that your data is secure. Design Pixel holds all customer data on their behalf in secure French data centres. Why France? For one it has some of the stricter privacy laws of most states, and as long as there is no criminal activity connected with you or your business then you can be quite sure that your data is safe from prying eyes.

Another reason we have chosen France is the great infrastructure available providing some of the fatest and fastest pipes to the Internet at large, so you can be sure that your data is not only secure, but it is also highly accessible at speed by you.

What else can I do about securing my data?

As well as making sure where your data is stored is secure, you should also make steps to use encryption when emailing sensitive information. We would recommend that you make use of PGP email encryption. Most popular mail clients such as Mozilla's Thunderbird support PGP. Once you have set-up email encryption you can be sure that nobody will be able to read your emails on the server or in transit to their final destination.

Making use of a VPN or anonymity service such as tor is an excellent way to hide yourself on the web as your browse various websites or services. When making use of a VPN it is also important to consider in which country or jurisdiction the VPN service is located. If it is one of the locations discussed above then your activity may well still be viewed by the government of that country, they just need to send a subpoena or court order to the VPN service provider.

The best tip of all is to do your research before making any rash decisions that you could later come to regret.

Secure & Private Jurisdiction

We are very proud of the services we offer, and that we can say they are all located in a safe and private jurisdiction. This means you can have peace of mind to get on with your daily business without worrying about your sensitive information and where it is held. Browse to the services page to view what we are able to offer you, and if you have any questions then please do contact us.