SecNumCloud: an essential pillar for governing a sovereign, resilient and trusted cloud

Digital transformation accelerates the dependence of public and private organizations on cloud services.

This dynamic creates a paradox: the cloud has become essential for performance, but also one of the main risk vectors. Faced with this reality, trust can no longer be implicit; it must be demonstrable, audited and sovereign.

It is in this perspective that ANSSI has designed SecNumCloud, the most advanced security and sovereignty framework in Europe.

Today, it constitutes a reference standard for executives wishing to secure their critical activities, control their risks and align their digital strategy with regulatory requirements (GDPR, NIS2, DORA).

1. SecNumCloud: a strategic framework for demanding organizations

SecNumCloud sets a set of technical, organizational and legal requirements allowing a cloud provider to obtain the ANSSI Security Visa.
This visa materializes a high and lasting level of guarantee, because it is based on:

• independent control by approved audit centers,

• a continuous review of security practices,

• a regular follow-up by the ANSSI.

The repository covers all cloud models — IaaS, PaaS, CaaS and SaaS—and therefore addresses all critical data hosting and processing needs

2. The key guarantees: security, control and sovereignty

Enhanced operational security

SecNumCloud imposes an advanced level of IT hygiene, based on the ANSSI guides, and guarantees:

• a strict partitioning of environments,

• a robust encryption of data at rest and in transit,

• a secure and traceable administration,

• a structured management of vulnerabilities and incidents,

• a continuous and correlated supervision of security events.

These requirements significantly reduce the attack surface and ensure business continuity in sensitive contexts.

Risk control and transparency

The framework imposes a comprehensive risk management approach including:

• the classic technical risks,

• the risks related to infrastructure sharing,

• the risks of exposure to non-European jurisdictions.

A specific document must also be prepared on the residual risks related to non-European laws — central point of version 3.2 of the framework.

Sovereignty and protection against interference

The SecNumCloud qualification is distinguished by a set of legal requirements unique in Europe:

• mandatory location of data, administration and safeguards within the European Union;

• impossibility for non-European shareholders or suppliers to exercise direct or indirect control over the service;

• strict supervision of support operations carried out outside the EU, under dedicated supervision;

• exclusive application of European law to the service.

These provisions constitute an essential bulwark against extraterritorial laws (Cloud Act, FISA 702).

3. Why SecNumCloud is becoming a must for executives

Pilot a digital one of trust

For a COMEX, the SecNumCloud qualification allows:

• to control legal, operational and reputational risks,

• to increase organizational resilience,

• to ensure business continuity in critical situations,

• to strengthen integrated compliance (GDPR, NIS2, DORA, sectoral regulation).

Align digital strategy and sovereignty

The state’s “cloud at the center” doctrine makes SecNumCloud essential for administrations.

But the private sector is following the same path, notably in:

• Health,

• Energy,

• Finance,

• local and regional authorities,

• companies managing complex supply chains.

Ensure the trust of partners and customers

The ANSSI qualification becomes an element of differentiation in the market and strengthens the legitimacy of organizations in their commercial and institutional relations.

4. The qualification process: a proof of maturity

Obtaining the qualification is done in four steps:

1. filing of the file with ANSSI;
2. definition of the evaluation strategy;
3. carrying out technical and organizational audits by an approved center;
4. qualification decision and annual monitoring.

The qualification is issued for a maximum duration of three years.

Beyond certification, it is a continuous process of governance, transparency and improvement.

5. Incident management and notification

In an interconnected digital economy, security and sovereignty become prerequisites for performance.
SecNumCloud provides a clear framework for:

• structure a solid digital governance,

• create an environment of trust with the stakeholders,

• promote innovation without undermining safety,

• reduce critical dependencies to major non-European actors.

It is fully in line with the mission of governing digital technology to create value and inspire trust, which is at the heart of the Govern IT approach.