For many IT directors and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this is the ultimate nightmare scenario. But for one company, it was merely a minor glitch. Why? Because they had an external, immutable S3 backup copy that allowed them to restore their entire environment with just a few clicks.

This scenario raises a fundamental question: In a digital-first economy, who genuinely controls your data?

💸The Ransomware Threat vs. The Egress Ransom

When we talk about data being held hostage, we immediately think of cybercriminals and extortion demands. But there is a second, far more pervasive form of ransom happening every single day in the cloud industry: Egress Fees and Vendor Lock-in.

Major public cloud hyper-scalers make it easy and inexpensive to push your data into their clouds (ingress). But the moment you attempt to access, migrate, or restore your data elsewhere, you are slapped with exorbitant data transfer charges (egress fees).

Nearly half of traditional hyper-scaler storage bills consist of these hidden API and transfer taxes rather than actual storage capacity. You shouldn’t have to pay a penalty to retrieve your own data.

The Cloud Sovereignty Dilemma: The Illusion of “European” Datacenters 🇪🇺 US

Most European businesses assume that if their data is stored on a server physically located in Frankfurt or Brussels for example, it is protected by European law.

This is a dangerous misconception.

• US CLOUD Act: Extraterritorial reach allows US authorities to compel American tech companies to provide access to data under their control, regardless of whether the servers are physically located in Europe or elsewhere.
• EU GDPR: Protects personal data within the European Union by setting strict compliance and privacy standards.

The Conflict: Even if data resides in a European data center, using a US-owned cloud provider exposes that data to foreign jurisdictional access under the CLOUD Act, creating a conflict with strict EU privacy regulations

FACT: More than 60% of the global cloud market is dominated by the top 3 American providers. Over 90% of data exchanged in Europe falls under extraterritorial legislation—such as the US CLOUD Act—giving foreign authorities theoretical legal access to your information, regardless of where the hardware resides.

Why Competitors Like Wasabi Fall Short on True Sovereignty

Many providers position themselves as low-cost alternatives. Take Wasabi, for instance: while they offer no egress fees and run datacenters within Europe, Wasabi is a US-incorporated entity. Even when deployed inside European datacenters, American-owned storage providers remain bound to foreign court orders and US jurisdictional reach under the CLOUD Act.

True data sovereignty requires more than local hardware; it requires local ownership, local management tools, and local legal jurisdiction.

🛡️The Modern Solution: Object Storage & Digital Air-Gapping

To defend your organisation against both cyber threats and sovereign liabilities, modern IT architectures rely on S3 Object Storage paired with S3 Object Lock.

Historically, an air gap meant physically removing a backup tape and locking it in a bank vault. S3 Object Lock provides the digital equivalent. When an immutable retention policy is applied, your backup objects are locked on write.

This guarantees an untouched, uncorrupted recovery point whenever disaster strikes!

🏰The Belgian Data Fortress: The Cubixion Model

At Cubixion, we built a storage architecture designed to eliminate black boxes, hidden fees, and jurisdictional risks.

• 100% Belgian Ownership & Hosting: Your data is stored, managed, and backed up strictly within Tier III+ and Tier IV datacenters in Belgium. It remains fully subject to Belgian and EU laws (GDPR, NIS2) without exposure to foreign legislation.
• True End-to-End Sovereignty: Unlike competitors who host data in Europe but run their management consoles or parent companies out of foreign jurisdictions, our entire stack and management portal (my.cubixion.com) are hosted locally
• Zero Egress, Zero Ingress, Zero Hidden Fees: Move your data freely. Whether you are restoring backups, or migrating workloads, you pay a flat, predictable rate per TB with no surprise or API request charges
• No Black Box Architecture: Complete transparency. We support open S3 standards alongside native multi-protocol access (NFS, SMB/CIFS), integrating seamlessly with platforms like Veeam, Acronis, CommVault, Veritas, Nakivo and many others…

🤝Empowering Local IT Champions & MSPs

According to recent industry data from Accenture, over 80% of European enterprises have already invested in or are actively planning their move to sovereign cloud infrastructure.

This shift represents a massive strategic advantage for local Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and System Integrators. Partnering with a true local sovereign provider allows MSPs to:

1. Offer High-Margin Data Protection: Deliver enterprise-grade “data insurance” against ransomware without risking client churn over unpredictable hyper-scaler bills[cite: 3, 4].
2. Guarantee Total Compliance: Provide customers with absolute certainty regarding data residency, audit trails, and legal protections.
3. Build Real Human Relationships: Access direct technical support from local experts in your time zone speaking your language.

Final Question for Your IT Strategy

In a digital landscape filled with cyber threats, volatile price hikes, and foreign legal overreach, ask yourself:

Who actually holds the keys to your enterprise data? A foreign hyper-scaler, an overseas software vendor, or your own team under local legal protection?

Take back control of your cloud storage. Discover the Cubixion Belgian Sovereign Storage Platform

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 In the current global digital ecosystem, where data flows across borders via cloud computing, understanding the legal jurisdiction and physical location of information is paramount for maintaining compliance and security. Two concepts govern this digital governance: data residency and data sovereignty. While frequently confused, they represent fundamentally different layers of control—one geographical, the other legal. The distinction is critically important, particularly for organizations operating within the European Union (EU), where strict privacy regulations clash directly with the extraterritorial reach of foreign legislation, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. 

Data Residency: The Geographical Anchor 

Data residency refers to the geographical location of the data. It defines the physical place where the datacenters, servers, or other systems that store or handle the data are situate. Because a company’s data can move extensively throughout its lifecycle, a single organization’s data may acquire “multiple residencies”. For instance, a U.S.-based business might collect personal data from U.S. consumers and store it on local servers (residency 1), but if they use a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application whose servers are located in Canada for processing, that data might temporarily reside in Canada, potentially subjecting it to Canadian data laws. 

While residency requirements may sometimes arise from an organization’s internal policies or contractual commitments, they are often dictated by data localization requirements. Data localization refers to legal mandates requiring organizations to keep data created within a specific country inside that country’s borders. These requirements can range from keeping a copy of the data within the country to outright bans on data transfers outside of the country. 

Data Sovereignty: The Legal Authority 

Data sovereignty, in contrast, is a legal concept. It is the principle that nations possess legal and regulatory authority over data that is generated or processed within their national borders. If a country has sovereignty over a piece of data, it means that country holds legal authority over that data, including for purposes of national security. 

The core distinction is that residency is geographical, while sovereignty is legal. Often, residency determines sovereignty: if data resides in a datacenter in Ireland, then Ireland has sovereignty over it, and the business must comply with Irish data protection laws. 

However, residency is not the sole determinant of jurisdiction. Data sovereignty laws can follow the data regardless of where it is physically stored. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a prime example of this, as it can apply to data held or processed outside of the EU if that data pertains to EU residents. Therefore, data can fall under multiple sovereignties simultaneously, such as both local country laws and the EU-wide GDPR. 

The Imperative for European Sovereignty 

For European enterprises, achieving true digital sovereignty has become an existential requirement. By 2025, the demand for digital sovereignty is projected to be a primary business driver for over 75% of EU enterprises. For 97% of businesses navigating the GDPR landscape, storing data within EU data centers is no longer just a preference but a core requirement. 

True sovereignty ensures that data, including all metadata, remains strictly under European legal jurisdiction. This is essential to avoid exposure to foreign laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act, and it provides the legal certainty that over 80% of companies are actively seeking. 

Compliance is paramount. The GDPR imposes strict controls on the processing of personal data and restricts data transfers to jurisdictions that are not deemed to have adequate protection. Specifically, the GDPR mandates that all data collected on citizens must be either stored in the EU and subject to European privacy laws or stored in a country with similar levels of protection. 

Furthermore, the European regulatory environment is rapidly expanding. The upcoming EU Data Act, applicable from September 2025, will mandate data portability and interoperability, while the NIS-2 Directive requires critical infrastructure operators to maintain continuous security processes and supply-chain assurance. Failure to comply with these local data laws can result in significant fines, legal penalties, and reputational damage. By choosing European-based cloud solutions that are “sovereign by design,” companies can ensure regulatory readiness and turn these complex legal requirements into a competitive advantage. 

The Threat from Across the Atlantic: The US CLOUD Act 

A major challenge to EU data sovereignty is the American Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act), which was enacted on March 23, 2018. The CLOUD Act primarily amends the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986. It was introduced following difficulties the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) faced in obtaining remotely stored data using SCA warrants, a situation highlighted by a 2013 legal dispute with Microsoft regarding emails stored on a server in Ireland. 

The key feature of the CLOUD Act is its extraterritorial scope. The law enables U.S. federal law enforcement to compel U.S.-based technology companies, via warrant or subpoena, to provide requested data stored on servers, regardless of whether that data is stored in the U.S. or on foreign soil. 

The application of the CLOUD Act is broad. It is not limited strictly to companies headquartered in the U.S. but applies to “all electronic communication service or remote computing service providers that operate or have a legal presence in the U.S.”. Moreover, courts have the power to require parent companies to provide data held by their subsidiaries. 

In response to this legislation, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) expressed the view that the CLOUD Act is a law that is in possible conflict with the GDPR. 

Potential Risks of Using US-Owned Cloud Providers 

Storing critical data, including backups, with a U.S.-owned company—or any service provider with a legal presence in the U.S.—introduces significant risks to EU businesses seeking to maintain digital sovereignty: 

1. Risk of Forced Access Without Consent: The most immediate threat is that the data, including backups, could be seized or accessed by the U.S. government without the knowledge or consent of the European data owner. The CLOUD Act directly authorizes U.S. authorities to access data stored by American service providers, even if that data is physically held abroad. 

2. Conflict with GDPR Compliance: Since the CLOUD Act provides U.S. authorities with direct access, using American providers exposes European organizations to foreign law, potentially placing them in conflict with the GDPR. The GDPR restricts the transfer of personal data to jurisdictions that do not provide adequate levels of data protection. 

3. Political and Security Risks: In the event of political instability or sudden legal changes, data stored overseas may be vulnerable to external control. The German Commissioner for Data Protection, for instance, warned against using U.S.-based cloud services for storing sensitive data for the Federal Police due to the inherent vulnerability to U.S. snooping policies. Furthermore, complexity in managing compliance across multiple legal frameworks increases the risk of mishandling data and creating security gaps. 

4. Customer Responsibility in SaaS Models: Many popular SaaS platforms (like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Google Workspace) operate under a shared responsibility model. While the SaaS operator handles application availability and redundancy, the ultimate responsibility falls to the customer to protect users and their data from breaches and data loss, including ensuring data sovereignty for their backups. 

To mitigate these threats, organizations must choose cloud providers who are transparent about data storage locations, offering country-level geofencing to guarantee data residency within specific EU regions under strict EU rules. This practice provides the foundational legal protection necessary to operate securely and compliantly within the modern, complex international legal framework. 

Data sovereignty is like placing your most valuable assets in a safe deposit box inside your own country’s treasury, knowing that only your national laws can dictate who can open it. Data residency, however, is merely knowing the street address of the building. If that building belongs to a foreign entity with access keys governed by laws from a different nation, the physical address doesn’t guarantee legal protection. 

We talk about us: here

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Revolutionary European-owned storage platform built and operated entirely in Belgium and Germany offers cost savings with zero hidden fees 

Brussels, November 2025 – Cubixion, a European innovator in sovereign cloud storage, today announced the official launch of Belgium’s first truly data-sovereign object storage solution. Built and operated entirely within Belgium and Germany, Cubixion empowers organizations to store and manage their critical data with complete confidence while ensuring full compliance with European data protection regulations, including GDPR. 

In an era where data sovereignty, security, and compliance have become strategic imperatives for organizations across Europe, Cubixion represents a paradigm shift in how businesses approach cloud storage. Unlike other players that relocate data across multiple jurisdictions and charge for both ingress and egress traffic, Cubixion provides transparent, predictable pricing with free ingress and egress, ensuring organizations maintain complete control over their most important assets. 

Addressing the European Data Sovereignty Challenge 

European organizations face increasing pressure to maintain strict data residency compliance while managing exploding storage demands. According to industry analysts, global data is expected to triple by 2026, generating parallel increases in risks, costs, and complexities related to data management. Cubixion is specifically designed to address these challenges through a geo-distributed architecture that keeps data within European/Belgian borders while delivering enterprise-grade performance and resilience. 

“Data is an organization’s most critical asset, yet many companies are forced to compromise on sovereignty and transparency to access cloud storage at scale,” said the Cubixion team. “We believe European organizations deserve better. Cubixion delivers that alternative – truly sovereign storage that combines European values with world-class infrastructure and support.” 

Revolutionary Service Architecture 

Cubixion’s service structure eliminates the traditional cloud storage model that penalizes organizations for accessing their own data. The platform introduces four core pillars that fundamentally reshape the storage economics: 

Predictable Pricing Model: Cubixion implements a transparent pay-as-you-go model with zero hidden fees. Organizations pay exclusively for storage capacity, while ingress and egress traffic remain completely free – a stark contrast to other players pricing strategies that charge for data movement. 

Geographic Flexibility and Redundancy: Customers can choose storage locations across Cubixion’s geo-distributed infrastructure spanning Belgium and Germany, enabling business continuity strategies and accessibility optimization. Organizations can reserve specific geographic footprints to meet regulatory and operational requirements. 

Reserved Capacity Guarantees: Unlike oversubscribed public cloud offerings, Cubixion reserves dedicated capacity buffers for each customer, ensuring seamless scalability and uninterrupted service delivery even during peak demand periods. 

S3-Compatible Architecture: Cubixion delivers 100% hot storage with full S3 compatibility, enabling zero-migration friction for organizations transitioning from other players. With a guaranteed 99.99% availability SLA for hot storage, enterprise-grade performance is no longer a premium feature – it’s the standard. 

Compelling Economics and Performance 

Cubixion delivers significant cost advantages compared to major cloud service providers. Organizations deploying Cubixion experience major cost reductions compared to other players pricing while gaining the transparency and governance that European regulations increasingly demand. The platform’s architecture ensures 99% availability across all geo-distributed nodes, protecting against disasters and outages. 

Enterprise-Grade Transparency and Control 

Unlike proprietary cloud platforms where infrastructure remains opaque, Cubixion operates with complete transparency. Organizations can visit Cubixion’s facilities in Belgium and Germany to inspect infrastructure firsthand – a level of openness that traditional cloud providers cannot match. This commitment to transparency extends throughout the service, with no hidden algorithms, no mysterious pricing tiers, and no surprise charges. 

Compliance by Design 

Cubixion’s platform architecture was engineered specifically for regulatory compliance. Built entirely within the European Union, the system ensures data residency compliance with GDPR, German data protection laws, and Belgian regulations. The geo-distributed design satisfies increasingly stringent data sovereignty requirements from public sector organizations, critical infrastructure operators, and regulated industries including finance, healthcare, and defense. 

Immediate Availability 

Cubixion’s sovereign storage solution is immediately available for enterprise deployments. Organizations seeking transparent, compliant, and cost-effective S3 storage can access full technical documentation, pricing information, and service architecture details at cubixion.com. 

About Cubixion 

Cubixion is Belgium’s only truly data-sovereign S3 storage solution, built and operated entirely within Belgium and hosted in the highest tiered datacenters. Designed for organizations requiring strict data residency compliance and transparent pricing, Cubixion delivers enterprise-grade object storage with 99.99% hot storage availability, predictable pay-as-you-go pricing, and zero hidden fees. With a commitment to openness and European values, Cubixion enables organizations to regain control of their critical data infrastructure. 

Media Contact 

Cubixion 
info@cubixion.com 
Avenue Louise 500, B136 

1050 Brussels 

For more information, technical specifications, and customer case studies, visit cubixion.com or call us +32(0)489 41 32 22 

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