SecNumCloud Compliance
Sovereign Cloud Security for Critical and Public Sector Systems
What is SecNumCloud?
SecNumCloud is the French cloud security framework defined by ANSSI (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information). It establishes strict requirements for cloud service providers delivering services to Operators of Vital Importance (OIVs) and public sector organizations.
The framework ensures that sensitive or sovereign data hosted in the cloud is protected by trusted European providers, with guarantees on data sovereignty, confidentiality, availability, and resilience.
Key SecNumCloud requirements:
- Data Sovereignty: Guarantee that data is hosted and processed within the EU, free from extraterritorial laws.
- Access Control: Enforce strict management of identities and privileges.
- Strong Authentication: Require MFA and secure federation for access to cloud environments.
- Auditability & Traceability: Log and monitor all administrative and user actions.
- Operational Security: Apply monitoring, incident detection, and rapid response procedures.
- Continuity & Resilience: Ensure high availability, backup, and recovery processes.
- ANSSI Cryptography Compliance: Use certified cryptographic modules to protect data at rest and in transit.
How Visual Guard facilitates SecNumCloud compliance:
Centralized identity and access management:
Provide unified identity governance across hybrid and cloud applications, enforcing least-privilege access.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA):
Support MFA mechanisms aligned with SecNumCloud requirements, including smart cards, OTP, push notifications, and biometrics.
Granular access control:
Define access rules at the user, role, and application level to separate duties and prevent privilege escalation.
Audit logging and traceability:
Generate immutable logs of all user and administrator actions to ensure accountability.
Support for sovereign hosting models:
Integrate with SecNumCloud-certified cloud providers, complementing sovereign infrastructure with advanced access security.
Compliance reporting:
Produce reports for internal security teams and external auditors to demonstrate SecNumCloud compliance.
Detailed technical capabilities
Access Control & Identity Governance
- Fine-grained RBAC across cloud and on-premise applications
- Directory synchronization for automated user lifecycle management
Authentication Security
- MFA using SecNumCloud-accepted mechanisms (OTP, smart cards, biometrics)
Context-Aware Access
- Adaptive access rules based on location, device, and time
Audit & Traceability
- Immutable audit trail with timestamping and export options
- Real-time monitoring of access to sensitive cloud resources
Security Operations Integration
- Integration with SIEM solutions for advanced monitoring and incident response
Use case
Securing cloud hosting for a public sector organization
A French public sector agency migrates critical applications to a SecNumCloud-certified cloud provider. It must comply with ANSSI requirements for data sovereignty, access control, and traceability.
How Visual Guard helped:
- Enforced MFA and role-based access for internal staff and external contractors.
- Provided full audit logging of all user and administrative actions.
- Integrated with Entra ID for seamless onboarding and deprovisioning.
- Generated compliance-ready reports aligned with SecNumCloud obligations.
Result: The agency ensured its cloud migration complied with ANSSI SecNumCloud, protecting sensitive citizen data while benefiting from secure, sovereign cloud hosting.