Cloud Computing in Privacy Architecture is the discipline of designing, implementing, and governing privacy controls across cloud infrastructure — IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS — to protect personal data throughout its lifecycle. The discipline centers on the shared responsibility model: a contractual and technical division of privacy obligations between the cloud provider (infrastructure security) and the customer organization (data protection, access control, compliance). Privacy professionals must determine which controls belong to the provider, which belong to the organization, and where gaps arise — particularly when personal data crosses regions, cloud tiers, or vendor boundaries.
Where it stops · what it isn't
- —IS: Privacy architecture decisions specific to cloud deployments — data residency, encryption key management, IAM configuration, DPA negotiation, vendor assessment, and cloud-native incident response.
- —IS: Governance of shared responsibility matrices across IaaS (AWS EC2), PaaS (Azure App Service), and SaaS (Salesforce, Google Workspace) service models and their distinct privacy implications.
- —IS NOT: General cloud security architecture — this cubelet focuses on personal data protection obligations, not network perimeter security or vulnerability management.
- —IS NOT: A comprehensive regulatory compliance framework — this cubelet addresses cloud as an infrastructure context for applying privacy principles, not a substitute for GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA legal analysis.
- —IS NOT: Cloud performance engineering, cost optimization, or DevOps pipeline design, unless those concerns directly affect personal data handling.
Connected concepts in the graph
Every cubelet sits in a knowledge graph. Here's what this one connects to.
PART OFPrivacy Architecture — Infrastructure (CDPSE Domain 2)
REQUIRESShared Responsibility ModelData Processing Agreements (DPAs)Encryption (at rest and in transit)Identity and Access Management (IAM)
ENABLESData Residency and Sovereignty CompliancePrivacy Incident Response in Cloud Environments
RELATED TOData Classification and GovernanceVendor Assessment and Third-Party Risk
CONSTRAINSMulti-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Architecture Decisions