When negotiating with a cloud service provider, what are the contractual clauses you consider essential?

We need control over our data, including knowing its geographic location if we can't control its placement. It's important to clearly establish the method and cost for retrieving data after the arrangement with your CSP ends. Additionally, there must be a method for data destruction once our agreement concludes, ensuring our data is erased from their environment.

Forensics and access to root-level log information are often sticking points in negotiations with CSPs. Cloud vendors may be hesitant to share certain platform details, but this is crucial for us, given the nature of our work. Ensuring access to this information is essential, depending on the relationship's risk level.

In cloud provider contracts, it's important to ensure compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR and CCPA, as well as other cybersecurity laws. We also need to verify their adherence to security standards and cloud-specific compliance frameworks. Data ownership is crucial, along with audit and monitoring requirements. Additionally, we assess their vendor management practices to ensure they don't expose us to risks through their third or fourth-party vendors.

A critical clause for CSP contracts is ensuring ownership of encryption keys. This is essential for maintaining control over data security. Due diligence is vital, which includes understanding their SOC 2 compliance and risk ratings. Exchanging security questionnaires is part of this process. Our master service agreements typically cover these areas, especially as we focus on SaaS solutions. This shift from IaaS and PaaS has minimized risks associated with the shared responsibility model.