Fearing NSA Surveillance, 25 Percent Of Firms Plan To Move Data Offshore

One-quarter of businesses are planning to move their data outside of the United States as a result of recent scandals over surveillance by the National Security Agency, according to a study published Wednesday.

The study, commissioned by PEER 1 Hosting, reports that about a third of Canadian companies are planning to move away from U.S. data centers.

Despite the emerging trend, the U.S. remains the most popular place for U.K. and Canadian companies to host data outside of their home countries, with 51 percent planning to keep data in the U.S, the study says.

The survey revealed that the top three concerns for U.K. and Canadian businesses when choosing a hosting provider are now security (96 percent), performance (94 percent), and reputation (87 percent). Nearly 70 percent of respondents agree they would sacrifice performance to ensure data sovereignty.

Yet organizations admit they are struggling to fully understand current data laws. Sixty percent agree they don't know as much as they should about data security laws, and 44 percent feel that privacy and security laws confuse them, the study says.

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