The digital safe

A digital safe is a tool for storing, backing up, archiving, filing and preserving documents. Such a device allows a security of sensitive data. 

1. The definition of a digital safe 

a. The legal regime of the digital safe 

The digital safe is precisely defined by article L. 103 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code and allows : 

• "The receipt, storage, deletion, and transmission of electronic data or documents under conditions that provide evidence of their integrity and the accuracy of their origin" ; 
• "The traceability of the operations performed on these documents or data and the availability of this traceability to the user"; 
• "The identification of the user when accessing the service by an electronic means of identification" ; 
• The guarantee of exclusive access: "to electronic documents, user data or data associated with the operation of the service to that user, to third parties other than the digital safe service provider, explicitly authorized by the user to access such documents and data" ; 
• "The possibility for the user to retrieve documents and data stored in an open standard that can be easily reused and exploited by an automated data processing system". 
  

 b. The legal regime of the digital safe 

Article R. 55-1 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code provides that: "the provider of a digital safe service is required to provide clear, fair and transparent information on the terms and conditions of operation and use of the service, prior to the conclusion of a contract.   

Before the user is bound by a contract for the provision of a digital safe service, the service provider shall provide the user with the following information in a legible and understandable manner:   

 1. The type of space made available and the associated conditions of use;   

 2. The technical mechanisms used ;   

 3. Privacy Policy;   

 4. The existence and implementation of performance guarantees;   

 5. Its commitment on the conformity of the service to the requirements set out in 1 to 5 of Article L. 103. 

This information shall also be made available online and, where appropriate, updated." 

2. A highly secure system 

Different standards govern the digital safe:   

• The French standard AFNOR NF Z42-013, published in 2009, transposed as an international standard under the name ISO 14641-1 in 2012 by the International Organization for Standardization, guarantees the protection of data through archiving and recording (art. R. 55-4 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code); 
• The French standard NF Z42-020 is specific to the CCFN safe. It ensures the integrity of digital data, their confidentiality as well as their availability (art. R. 55-3 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code).
  

Article R. 55-5 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code states that: "User identification when accessing the digital safe service is ensured by an electronic means of identification adapted to the security issues of the service."