Global international B2B payments are projected to scale toward $50 trillion by 2032. For most people, that’s a mind-bending figure; for cybercriminals, it’s a treasure map with a giant X already drawn on it.
And with AI powering some of the most sophisticated cyber attacks, there’s a good chance some of these sniffers could be successful. But ill-intended cyber actors are not the only threat to B2B cross-border deals; data privacy can also be problematic when two entities from different legislations come together.
If, for example, a US firm and a London-based enterprise want to enter a deal, shaking hands and signing documents is not enough. They also have to find a way to balance two entirely different legal structures and data definitions.
In today’s piece,we’ll have a look at what it takes to keep cross-border deals safe nowadays. So stick around to learn more.
GDPR vs. The US Patchwork
To make it easy to show the hoops businesses need to jump through for cross-border deals, we’ll continue with our US-UK example. First, we’ll compare the legal data privacy frameworks.
The London-based company is governed by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The regulatory floor is incredibly high, with maximum fines for severe breaches reaching up to £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.
On the other hand, the US company operates without a single, comprehensive federal data privacy law. Instead, they navigate a complex patchwork of state-level laws (like California’s CCPA/CPRA, Virginia’s VCDPA, and over a dozen others) alongside sector-specific federal laws (HIPAA for healthcare, GLBA for finance).
The only way to untangle this knot of legal information is by working with experienced legal professionals at both ends. You need to have the data security lawyers in London meet with the US team and talk shop until they find common ground. Otherwise, both companies risk fines and reputational damage.
Technical and Operational Cybersecurity Risks
If there are still companies and organizations out there not convinced of the importance of proper, well-designed cybersecurity systems, here are some reasons to reconsider:
AI-Powered Cyber Attacks
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Cybersecurity Outlook, 87% of security leaders identify AI-related vulnerabilities as the fastest-growing cyber risk. And it’s not just because ill-intended actors use AI to refine their attacks.
The main issue arises when employees use unauthorized artificial intelligence tools (such as public LLMs or unsanctioned coding assistants) for business tasks without the knowledge or approval of the IT and security teams.
This is called unmanaged shadow AI integration and introduces massive liabilities, as proprietary corporate data, client information, or source code is uploaded to third-party servers, bypassing data governance, regulatory compliance protocols, and standard security boundaries.
API Vulnerabilities
Modern cross-border B2B operations rely heavily on APIs to sync CRM, ERP, and payment systems across geographic borders. Yet industry data show that while up to 99% of organizations encounter API security issues, only about 10% have a mature API posture governance.
Centralized governance and cryptographic identity implementation (rather than basic API keys) are a must-have to safeguard cross-border deals. Recent data also shows that robust security AI and automated monitoring contribute to a safer environment.
Lead With Data Privacy and Protection
We live in an age when it’s incredibly easy to discuss the terms of a cross-border deal. Even if one party is in NYC and the other in London, no one has to travel, stay in business hotels, or even rent a conference room. Everything happens through screens and data transfers.
While we can’t deny the multitude of benefits, data-driven business also attracts a wide range of risks. This is why true operational resilience requires both companies to synchronize their technical perimeters while anchor-pinning their legal strategies to the expertise of cross-border data privacy attorneys.
