GDPR Chapter V is the part of EU data protection law that controls when personal data can be transferred outside the EU and EEA, especially to third countries and international organizations. It requires a lawful transfer basis, such as an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses, or Binding Corporate Rules, and often a transfer impact assessment to check whether the destination’s laws and practices protect the data.
For cyber security teams, Chapter V matters because many common systems can move personal data across borders without being obvious: cloud hosting, remote support, SIEM logs, backups, telemetry, and incident-response tooling. Attackers may exploit weak vendor governance or misconfigured data flows to push sensitive records into uncontrolled jurisdictions. Defenders reduce risk by mapping data paths, limiting exports, encrypting data, tightening access, and documenting transfers so privacy and security controls stay aligned.