Clava

Security overview.

How the Clava cloud protects your firm’s documents, written for your IT and risk teams. On-premises deployments run inside your own network and are covered by your own controls.

Last updated 19 October 2026

Where your data is

  • Stored in the UKDocuments, extracted text, matter work and audit records are stored and backed up in AWS London (eu-west-2).
  • Processed in the UK and EUAI models run in Microsoft Azure and AWS, in London and EU regions. Nothing is processed outside the UK and EU.
  • Separate environmentsProduction and staging run in separate cloud accounts. Production has no public server address: it sits behind AWS WAF and a load balancer.

Architecture

Clava cloud architecture Lawyers reach Clava over TLS through AWS WAF and a load balancer in AWS London. The front tier runs the application; the back tier holds the database with row-level security, file storage encrypted under each firm's own key, and malware scanning. Nightly backups are kept in locked, encrypted storage in AWS London for 35 days. The model router sends tasks to AI models in AWS London and Microsoft Azure UK and EU regions. Your lawyers Single sign-on, MFA AWS London (eu-west-2) AWS WAF and load balancer Front tier Clava application Model router Back tier Database, row-level security per firm and matter Files, encrypted under each firm’s own key Malware scanning Backups Nightly, encrypted, locked for 35 days AI models Open-source and Anthropic, on AWS Microsoft Azure UK and EU regions AI models from OpenAI and Mistral TLS
Every connection is encrypted with TLS. Client data never leaves the UK and EU.

Firm and matter isolation

  • Enforced in the databaseRow-level security on every table separates each firm, then each matter, then each person’s role on that matter. Automated tests prove one firm cannot read another’s data.
  • Walls and markingsEthical walls and document markings apply everywhere a document or anything made from it appears, including AI search.
  • Matters are private until sharedRoles per matter (viewer, editor, reviewer, manager), and guests see only the documents named for them.

Encryption

  • In transitTLS 1.2 or higher on every connection, including calls to AI models, with HSTS.
  • At restEvery disk, database and backup is encrypted with AES-256 under AWS KMS.
  • A key for each firmYour firm’s files are also encrypted under your firm’s own AWS KMS key. When your firm leaves, the key is destroyed and the files can no longer be read anywhere, backups included.
  • Key managementKeys never leave AWS KMS and rotate automatically every year. Application secrets are held in a secrets manager, never in code.

Sign-in and access

  • Your peopleSingle sign-on with Microsoft Entra ID or Google, and MFA that your firm can require for everyone. Sessions last an hour and refresh securely; API keys are scoped, expire within a year and can be revoked at once.
  • Our peopleClava staff reach production only through single sign-on with MFA, and servers only through AWS Systems Manager, with every session recorded. There is no SSH.
  • Reviewed every quarterEvery account with access to production or client data is reviewed quarterly. Leavers lose access the day they leave.
  • Audit logEvery privileged action, export and decision is written to an append-only, tamper-evident audit log, kept for 7 years. Your firm can export it for any matter.

AI and your data

  • Never used for trainingYour prompts, documents and outputs are never used to train, fine-tune or evaluate any AI model, by Clava or by any provider.
  • A mix of models, all in the UK and EUClava routes each task to the model best suited to it: open-source models, and models from Anthropic, Mistral and OpenAI. Anthropic and open-source models run on AWS; OpenAI and Mistral models run on Microsoft Azure. Your data is never sent directly to Anthropic, Mistral or OpenAI.
  • Pinned and testedModel versions are fixed in configuration and changed only through a tested release. If a model is unavailable, the request fails or goes to another approved model in the same regions, never anywhere else.
  • Only what the lawyer can seeAI search runs with the signed-in lawyer’s own permissions, so walls, markings and matter access apply to every answer.

Accuracy and prompt injection

  • Exact citationsEvery answer cites the page and passage it relies on, and the lawyer opens the source in one click. Answers show uncertainty and the points to check.
  • A lawyer decidesClava never changes a source document and takes no action outside the app without a lawyer’s approval.
  • Untrusted content stays dataText from documents and web pages is passed to models as data, kept apart from instructions, and tools are limited to the task in hand.
  • Safe outputModel output is sanitised before display and the app runs under a Content Security Policy.

Backups and recovery

  • Nightly backupsEncrypted, locked backups of the servers every night in AWS London, kept for 35 days. They cannot be deleted early, even by us.
  • Recovery targetsService restored within 4 hours, from the most recent nightly backup.
  • Tested restoresWe restore backups regularly and check the result.
  • MonitoringAlarms for health, capacity and failed backups, AWS GuardDuty threat detection, and malware scanning of every upload before it is stored.

Vulnerabilities and incidents

  • Reviewed and tested changesEvery change is reviewed and must pass automated tests, including security and tenant isolation tests, before release. Builds run in CI, never on servers.
  • Dependency scanningKnown vulnerabilities in dependencies block a release. Critical issues are fixed within 7 days, high within 30 and medium within 90.
  • Incident noticeWithin 48 hours of confirming an incident that affects your firm’s data, we tell your firm’s owner, with updates until it is closed.

Retention and deletion

  • Your firm decidesMatters, documents and chats are kept until your firm deletes them. Deleted documents can be restored for 30 days, then are permanently purged. A different retention schedule can be agreed in your contract.
  • Audit recordsKept for 7 years, as firms’ regulators expect.
  • When you leaveExport your work to Word, PDF and Excel and your audit log as CSV. We then delete your data, destroy your firm’s key and send your owner a signed certificate of destruction.

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