Data Processing Addendum
Last Updated: October 23rd, 2023
This Data Processing Addendum and its Annexes (the “DPA“) reflect the agreement made by and between Semrush and Customer (as such terms are defined below), together the “Parties“, with respect to the Processing of Customer Personal Data (defined below) under the applicable terms and conditions or other written or electronic agreement referencing this DPA under which Semrush Processes Customer Personal Data that is subject to Applicable Data Protection Law (the “Agreement“). This DPA will be incorporated into the Agreement in accordance with the terms of the Agreement. This DPA amends the Agreement and is effective upon its incorporation into the Agreement, as specified in the Agreement or order between Semrush and Customer. Upon its incorporation into the Agreement, this DPA will form an integral part of the Agreement without the need for any additional signatures. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement, if there is a conflict between this DPA and the Agreement, this DPA will control.
1. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this DPA, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context otherwise requires. Other capitalized terms not defined herein will have the same meaning as set forth in the Agreement.
(a) “Affiliate“ means an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by or is under common ownership or control with the subject entity, where “control” means the power to direct the management or affairs of an entity and “ownership” means the beneficial ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the voting securities or other equivalent voting interests of the subject entity;
(b) “Applicable Data Protection Law” means all applicable legislation relating to data protection and privacy including, where applicable, the European Data Protection Laws, the CCPA, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, the Colorado Privacy Act and other applicable U.S. state privacy laws;
(c) “CCPA” means the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, and implementing regulations;
(d) “Controller” means the entity which determines the purposes and means of the Processing of Personal Data, including a “business” as defined by Applicable Data Protection Law;
(e) “Customer” means the entity that enters into the Agreement with Semrush for use of or access to the Services;
(f) “Customer Personal Data” means the Personal Data described in Annex I to this DPA, in respect of which the Customer is the Controller;
(g) “Data Subject”, “Process”, “Processed” or “Processing” shall each have the meaning as set out in the Applicable Data Protection Law;
(h) “European Data Protection Laws” means the GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 of the United Kingdom ("UK") and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection, each as amended or replaced from time to time;
(i) “EU Standard Contractual Clauses” means the Standard Contractual Clauses approved with Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 of 4 June 2021 on standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to third countries pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
(j) “GDPR” means the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (“EU GDPR”) and the EU GDPR in such form as incorporated into the laws of the UK “UK GDPR”), each as amended or replaced from time to time;
(k) “Personal Data” means personal data or personal information (as defined under the Applicable Data Protection Law) that is subject to the Applicable Data Protection Law;
(l) “Personal Data Breach” means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, Personal Data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed;
(m) “Processor” means the entity which Processes Personal Data on behalf of the Controller, including as applicable any “service provider” as that term is defined by Applicable Data Protection Law;
(n) “Regulator” means the data protection supervisory authority which has jurisdiction over the Processing of Personal Data;
(o) “Semrush” means Semrush Inc. or any Affiliate of Semrush that enters into an Agreement with Customer;
(p) “Services” means the services provided by Semrush to the Customer under the Agreement;
(q) “Standard Contractual Clauses” means collectively the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (as described in Section 6 (c) of this DPA); and
(r) “Sub-Processor” means (i) any Processor engaged by Data Processor or (ii) a Data Processor’s Affiliate.
2. PROCESSING OF CUSTOMER PERSONAL DATA.
(a) The Parties acknowledge and agree that with regard to the Processing of Customer Data, Customer is the Controller (the “Data Controller”) and Semrush is a Processor (the “Data Processor”). Semrush will Process Customer Data in accordance with Customer’s instructions as outlined in this section and in Section 4 (Data Processor’s Obligations).
(b) Semrush will Process Customer Personal Data (i) in accordance with the Agreement; (ii) at the Customer’s request when accessing or using the Services; or (iii) to comply with other reasonable instructions of the Data Controller (e.g., via email or support tickets) that are consistent with the terms of this DPA (individually and collectively, the “Purpose”). The types of Personal Data and categories of Data Subjects Processed under this DPA, the subject-matter, nature, purpose and duration of the Processing are further specified in Annex I to this DPA. If Customer’s Affiliates have purchased subscriptions to the Services directly with Semrush under the Agreement, then this DPA amends the terms of the Agreement with respect to those subscriptions, and each such Affiliate shall be deemed to be the “Data Controller” for the purposes of this DPA. Customer shall be responsible for coordinating all communications with Semrush and Customer’s Affiliates under this DPA and shall be entitled to make and receive any communication in relation to the DPA, on behalf of itself and its Affiliates.
3. DATA CONTROLLER
(a) The Data Controller shall, in its use of the Services, Process Customer Personal Data in accordance with the requirements of Applicable Data Protection Law. Customer’s instructions for the Processing of Customer Personal Data shall comply with Applicable Data Protection Law. Customer shall have sole responsibility for the accuracy, quality, and legality of Customer Personal Data and the means by which Customer obtained Customer Personal Data.
(b) The Data Controller warrants that it has all necessary rights to provide the Customer Personal Data to the Data Processor for the Processing to be performed in relation to the Services. To the extent required by Applicable Data Protection Law, the Data Controller is responsible for ensuring that any necessary Data Subject consents to this Processing are obtained, and for ensuring that a record of such consents is maintained. Should such a consent be revoked by the Data Subject, Data Controller is responsible for communicating the fact of such revocation to the Data Processor, and Data Processor remains responsible for implementing any Data Controller instruction with respect to the further Processing of Customer Personal Data that is consistent with the terms of this DPA.
4. DATA PROCESSOR’S OBLIGATIONS.
4.1 To the extent the Data Processor Processes Customer Personal Data on behalf of the Data Controller, it shall:
(a) Process the Customer Personal Data only on documented instructions from the Data Controller in such manner as, and to the extent that, this is appropriate for the provision of the Services, including with regard to transfers of Personal Data to third countries, except as required to comply with applicable laws in the EEA, EEA member states, the UK, or Switzerland, to which the Data Processor is subject. In such a case, the Data Processor shall, to the extent legally permitted by those laws, inform the Data Controller of that legal obligation before Processing. The Data Processor shall immediately inform the Data Controller if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes the data protection laws of the EEA, EEA member states, the UK, or Switzerland;
(b) ensure that all persons or parties authorized to Process the Customer Personal Data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;
(c) at all times have in place an appropriate written security policy with respect to the Processing of Customer Personal Data, outlining in any case the measures referenced in Section 5 below.
4.2 Except as permitted by applicable law, the Agreement or this DPA, Semrush shall not (1) retain, use, or disclose Customer Personal Data other than as needed to perform the Services; (2) retain, use, or disclose Customer Personal Data outside of the direct business relationship between Customer and Semrush; (3) “sell” or “share” (each as defined in Applicable Data Protection Law) Customer Personal Data; and (4) combine Customer Personal Data with any information other than Customer Personal Data unless otherwise required to deliver the Services. The Parties acknowledge and agree that the disclosure of Customer Personal Data by the Customer to Semrush does not form part of any monetary or other valuable consideration exchanged between the Parties. Semrush will comply with obligations applicable to it as a Data Processor under Applicable Data Protection Law, and will provide Customer Personal Data with the same level of privacy protection as is required by the Applicable Data Protection Law. Customer has the right to take reasonable steps to ensure that Semrush uses Customer Personal Data in a manner consistent with Customer’s obligations under Applicable Data Protection Law by exercising Customer’s audit rights in Section 5 of this DPA. Semrush will inform Customer if it can no longer comply with its obligations under Applicable Data Protection Law. Upon notice to Semrush, Customer may take reasonable and appropriate steps to remediate Semrush’s use of Customer Personal Data in violation of this DPA.
5. SECURITY
(a) Taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of Processing, as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of Data Subjects, without prejudice to any other security standards agreed upon by the Parties, the Data Controller and Data Processor shall implement appropriate technical and organizational measures for the protection of the security, confidentiality and integrity of the Customer Personal Data appropriate to the risk. These measures include the measures set forth in Annex II attached hereto.
(b) The Data Processor will regularly monitor the measures as implemented in accordance with this Section 5. The Data Processor may update the security measures from time to time provided that such updates do not result in a degradation of the overall security of the Services.
(c)The parties will negotiate in good faith the cost, if any, to implement material changes required by specific updated security requirements set forth in the Applicable Data Protection Law or by Regulators of competent jurisdictions.
(d) At the Data Controller's request, subject to the confidentiality obligations set forth in the Agreement, the Data Processor shall provide to the Data Controller information regarding the measures taken pursuant to this Section 5 in order to ensure its compliance with its obligations under this DPA. Such information may include overviews of the Data Processor’s third-party audit reports or third-party certifications (which may be redacted for security purposes). The Data Controller may contact the Data Processor in accordance with the “Notices” section of the Agreement to request an on-site audit of the Data Processor’s procedures relevant to the protection of Customer Personal Data, but only to the extent required under the Applicable Data Protection Law. The Data Controller may conduct such an audit not more than once annually, unless otherwise required by Applicable Data Protection Law. The Data Controller shall reimburse the Data Processor for any time spent on any such on-site audit at the Data Processor’s then-current rates, which are available upon request. The Data Controller shall provide at least thirty (30) days' prior written notice of its request to undertake such on-site audit, and the Data Controller and Data Processor shall, before the commencement of any such audit, mutually agree upon the scope, timing, the duration and the rate of reimbursement of such audit. (All reimbursement rates shall be reasonable, taking into account the resources expended by the Data Processor.) The Data Controller shall promptly notify the Data Processor of any non-compliance discovered during the course of such audit, and the Data Processor will use commercially reasonable efforts to address any confirmed non-compliance. The results of any audit performed hereunder shall be deemed Semrush’s Confidential Information. If the Standard Contractual Clauses apply to this DPA, then the Data Controller agrees to exercise its audit rights under the Standard Contractual Clauses as described in this Section 5(d), and the Data Controller has the right under the Standard Contractual Clauses to change its instruction and agrees to do so in writing pursuant to the "Notices" section of the Agreement.
6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
(a) In connection with the performance of the Agreement, the Parties hereby agree to be bound by the provisions of Module Two (Controller to Processor Module) of the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and all other sections of the EU Standard Contractual Clauses having general application (hereinafter, “C2P SCCs”), which are hereby incorporated into this DPA by reference, in order to implement appropriate safeguards for transfers of Customer Personal Data originating from the EEA and/or Switzerland to the United States pursuant to European Data Protection Laws. The Data Controller shall comply with the exporter’s obligations in the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, and the Data Processor shall comply with the importer’s obligations in the EU Standard Contractual Clauses in respect of that transferred Customer Personal Data. In furtherance of the foregoing, the Parties agree that, for purposes of the C2P SCCs:
(i) each Party will notify the other Party in writing if it requires adding the “docking clause” in Clause 7 of the C2P SCCs;
(ii) in Clause 9, Option 2 will apply, and the time period for prior notice of sub-Processor changes will be as set forth in Section 7 (Sub-processing) of this DPA;
(iii) in Clause 11, the optional language will not apply;
(iv) in Clause 17 (Option 1), the 2021 Standard Contractual Clauses will be governed by the laws of the Czech Republic.
(v) in Clause 18(b), disputes will be resolved before the courts of Czech Republic;
(vi) Annex I of the C2P SCCs shall be deemed completed with the information set out in Annex I to this DPA;
(vii) Annex II of the C2P SCCs shall be deemed completed with the information set out in Annex II to this DPA.
(b) Insofar as the transfer of Customer Personal Data is subject to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection, the following provisions apply: (i) the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) will be the competent supervisory authority under Clause 13 of the C2P SCCs; (ii) the Parties agree to abide by the EU GDPR standard in relation to all Processing of Customer Personal Data that is governed by the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection; (iii) the term ‘Member State’ in the C2P SCCs will not be interpreted in such a way as to exclude Data Subjects in Switzerland from the possibility of suing for their rights in their place of habitual residence (Switzerland) in accordance with Clause 18(c) of the C2P SCCs; and (iv) references to the ‘GDPR’ in the C2P SCCs will be understood as references to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection insofar as the transfer of Customer Personal Data is subject to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection.
(c) With respect to transfers of Customer Personal Data originating from the UK and subject to the UK GDPR, the Parties agree to comply with the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (version A1.0) issued by the UK Information Commissioner and laid before Parliament in accordance with Section 119A of the Data Protection Act 2018 on 2 February 2022 (as revised under its provisions) which is incorporated herein by reference. The Parties agree that, for the purposes of the UK IDTA:
(i) in Table 1, the Parties details and key contact information shall be deemed completed with the relevant information set out in Annex I to this DPA;
(ii) in Table 2, England and Wales is the governing law of the IDTA and the primary place for legal claims to be made by the Parties; the Exporter is a Controller and the importer is the Exporter’s Processor or Sub-Processor; the UK GDPR applies to the Importer’s Processing of the Transferred Data; reference to the “Linked Agreement” is to this DPA; the term of the IDTA is the period for which the Linked Agreement is in force; the Parties may end the IDTA (before the end of the Terms or when the Approved IDTA changes) in accordance with the termination provisions under the Agreement and this DPA; the Importer MAY transfer on the Transferred Data to another organization or person (who is a different legal entity) in accordance with Section 16.1 (Transferring on the Transferred Data);the first review date is the effective date of the Linked Agreement and the Parties must review the Security Requirements at least once each year]
(iii) in Table 3, the sections on details of Transferred Data shall be deemed completed with the relevant details as set out in Annex I to this DPA and this Transferred Data will update automatically if such details are updated in the Linked Agreement;
(iv) in Table 4, the sections on security shall be deemed completed with the security measures as described at Annex II to this DPA and these Security Requirements will update automatically if such security measures are updated in the Linked Agreement; and
(v) Part 4 Mandatory Clauses of the IDTA shall be deemed completed with the following provision “Mandatory Clauses of the Approved IDTA, being the template IDTA A.1.0 issued by the ICO and laid before Parliament in accordance with s119A of the Data Protection Act 2018 on 2 February 2022, as it is revised under Section 5.4 of those Mandatory Clauses.”
(e) To the extent that the EU Standard Contractual Clauses are subsequently modified, replaced, or held in a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, Customer and Semrush hereby agree that the applicable updated or new versions will be automatically applied and incorporated to this DPA, as of the date of applicability.
(f) The Parties further agree that, to the extent Customer exercises a termination right under the C2P SCCs, insofar as it concerns the Processing of Personal Data under the C2P SCCs, Semrush shall have the right to terminate the Agreement without penalty.
7. SUB-PROCESSING
(a) The Data Controller hereby grants the Data Processor general written authorization to engage the Data Processor’s Affiliates as Sub-Processors to Process Customer Personal Data and authorizes the Data Processor and its Affiliates to engage third-party Sub-Processors in connection with the delivery of services under the Agreement, subject to the requirements of this Section 7. For the avoidance of doubt, the above authorization constitutes Data Controller’s prior written consent to the sub-Processing by Data Processor for purposes of the Standard Contractual Clauses and the IDTA. The Data Processor may engage new Sub-Processors or may change Sub-Processors from time to time. The Data Processor will provide the Data Controller with notice by updating the Sub-Processor available here and by providing the Data Controller with a mechanism to receive notice of such updates) of any new Sub-Processor at least fifteen (15) days in advance of providing such Sub-Processor with access to Customer Personal Data. The Data Controller will have fourteen (14) days from the date of receipt of the Data Processor’s notice to approve or reject the new Sub-Processor on reasonable grounds. In the event of no response from the Data Controller, the Sub-Processor will be deemed accepted. If the Data Controller notifies Semrush of an objection to the new or replacement Sub-Processor, the Parties will discuss Data Controller’s concerns in good faith with a view to achieving a commercially reasonable resolution. If no such resolution can be reached, either Party may terminate the Processing of the Customer Personal Data with immediate effect, and without liability to either Party, on written notice to the other Party.
(b) The Data Processor shall enter into written agreements with its Sub-Processors containing data protection obligations that provide at least the same level of protection for Customer Personal Data as under this DPA and shall in particular impose on its Sub-Processors the obligation to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures in such a manner that the sub-Processing will meet the requirements of Applicable Data Protection Law. Where a Sub-Processor fails to fulfil its obligations, the Data Processor shall remain fully liable under the Applicable Data Protection Law to the Data Controller for the performance of that Sub-Processor’s obligations.
7.1. APPROVED SUB-PROCESSORS
A list of current Sub-processors is available at https://sem.vipacademictools.com/company/legal/sub-processors/
8. RETURNING OR DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL DATA
Upon termination of this DPA, upon the Data Controller’s written request, or upon fulfillment of the Purpose whereby no further Processing is required, the Data Processor shall, at the request of the Data Controller, either delete, destroy or return all Customer Personal Data to the Data Controller and destroy or return any existing copies, except where otherwise required by applicable laws of the EEA, EEA member states, the UK, or Switzerland. The return of data may incur additional charges. The Data Processor agrees to preserve the confidentiality of any retained Customer Personal Data and will only Process such Customer Personal Data after the date of termination in order to comply with those laws to which it is subject and to fulfill its obligations under this DPA.
9. ASSISTANCE TO DATA CONTROLLER
(a) The Data Processor shall, to the extent legally permissible, promptly notify the Data Controller of any requests from a Data Subject to exercise the rights granted to Data Subject under the Applicable Data Protection Law, including the right to access, rectification, restriction of Processing, erasure (the “right to be forgotten”), data portability, objection to the Processing, or not to be subject to automated individual decision making (each a “Data Subject Request”). Taking into the account the nature of the Processing, the Data Processor shall assist the Data Controller by appropriate technical and organizational measures, insofar as this is possible, for the fulfilment of the Data Controller’s obligation to respond to the Data Subject Request under Applicable Data Protection Law. In addition, to the extent the Data Controller, in its use of the Services, does not have the ability to address a Data Subject Request, the Data Processor shall, upon the Data Controller’s request, use commercially reasonable efforts to assist the Data Controller in responding to such Data Subject Request, to the extent the Data Processor is legally permitted to do so and the response to such Data Subject Request is required under Applicable Data Protection Law.
(b) Upon the Data Controller’s request, taking into account the nature of the Processing and the information available to the Data Processor, the Data Processor shall provide the Data Controller with reasonable cooperation and assistance to help the Data Controller fulfill its obligations (if applicable) under the Applicable Data Protection Law to (i) carry out a data protection impact assessment related to the Data Controller’s use of the Services, to the extent the Data Controller does not otherwise have access to the relevant information, and (ii) engage in prior consultations with Regulators as required under Article 36 of the GDPR or equivalent provision of the Applicable Data Protection Law.
10. INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
(a) When the Data Processor becomes aware of a Personal Data Breach, it shall notify the Data Controller at Data Controller’s notification email address about the Personal Data Breach without undue delay, shall provide commercially reasonable cooperation to the Data Controller, and shall take commercially reasonable steps to remediate the Personal Data Breach, if applicable, to the extent that remediation is within the Data Processor’s control. At the Customer’s request Data Processor will promptly provide the Customer with all reasonable assistance necessary to enable the Customer to notify relevant Personal Data Breaches to the Regulators and/or affected Data Subjects, if Customer is required to do so under the Applicable Data Protection Law. Customer is solely responsible for complying with Personal Data Breach notification requirements applicable to Customer and fulfilling any third-party notification obligations related to any Personal Data Breach. The obligations of this Section 10(a) do not apply to Personal Data Breaches that are caused by the Data Controller, Users, and/or any products and services other than Data Processor’s.
11. MISCELLANEOUS
(a) The liability of each Party and its respective Affiliates’, taken together in the aggregate, arising out of or relating to this DPA shall be subject to the section(s) of the Agreement governing limitations of liability, and any reference in such section(s) to the liability of a party means the aggregate liability of that party and all of its Affiliates under the Agreement and all DPAs together.
(b) This DPA and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes and claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws applicable to the Agreement of which this DPA forms a part.
(c) This DPA shall automatically terminate on the expiration or earlier termination of the Agreement.
ANNEX I TO THE DPA
A. LIST OF PARTIES
1. Data exporter(s):
Name, address, contact person’s name, position and contact details: Identity and contact details of the data exporter are as identified in the Agreement between the Parties. Data exporter (Customer) is the Controller.
Activities relevant to the data transferred under the C2P SCCs: The receipt of Services under the Agreement.
Signature and date: Each of Data Processor’s and Customer’s entering into this DPA shall be treated as each party’s signature of this Annex I, Section A, of the C2P SCCs.
2. Data importer(s):
Name, address, contact person’s name, position and contact details: Identity and contact details of the data importer, including any contact person with responsibility for data protection as is identified in the Agreement between the Parties. Data importer (Semrush) is the Processor.
Activities relevant to the data transferred under the C2P SCCs: Provision of Services to Customer under the Agreement.
Signature and date: Each of Data Processor’s and Customer’s entering into this DPA shall be treated as each party’s signature of Annex I, Section A, of the C2P SCCs.
B. DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFER
Categories of data subjects whose personal data is transferred: Data Controller’s employees, consultants, contractors, agents, and/or third parties with whom the Data Controller conducts business or collects through other means.
Categories of personal data transferred: The Personal Data that may be Processed under the Agreement, as submitted by Customers to or through the Services, may include, but is not limited to: first and last name, title, position, contact information, IP address and device ID.
Sensitive data transferred (if applicable) and applied restrictions or safeguards that fully take into consideration the nature of the data and the risks involved, such as for instance strict purpose limitation, access restrictions (including access only for staff having followed specialised training), keeping a record of access to the data, restrictions for onward transfers or additional security measures: None. Customers are prohibited from including sensitive data or special categories of data as part of the Customer Personal Data.
The frequency of the transfer (e.g. whether the data is transferred on a one-off or continuous basis): Continuous, for as long as the Customer uses the Services.
Nature of the processing: The nature of Processing is the provision of the Services to the Customer that involves the Processing of Customer Personal Data. Customer Personal Data will be subject to those Processing activities which Data Processor needs to perform in order to provide the Services pursuant to the Agreement.
Purpose(s) of the data transfer and further processing: Customer Personal Data will be Processed for the Purposes (as defined by Section 2 of this DPA).
The period for which the personal data will be retained, or, if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period: For the duration of the Agreement.
For transfers to (sub-) processors, also specify subject matter, nature and duration of the processing: As described in Section 7 of this DPA.
C. COMPETENT SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY
Identify the competent supervisory authority/ies in accordance with Clause 13 of the C2P SCCs: The supervisory authority of Czech Republic.
ANNEX II TO THE DPA
Semrush may update or modify these security measures from time to time provided that such updates and modifications do not result in the degradation of the overall security of the Services.
A. Data Center
- Semrush stores all production data in physically secure data centers.
- Infrastructure systems have been designed to eliminate single points of failure and minimize the impact of anticipated environmental risks. Dual circuits, switches, networks or other necessary devices help provide this redundancy. The Services are designed to allow Semrush to perform certain types of preventative and corrective maintenance without interruption. All environmental equipment and facilities have documented preventative maintenance procedures that detail the process for and frequency of performance in accordance with the manufacturer’s or internal specifications. Preventative and corrective maintenance of the data center equipment is scheduled through a standard change process according to documented procedures.
- The data center electrical power systems are designed to be redundant and maintainable without impact to continuous operations, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. In most cases, a primary as well as an alternate power source, each with equal capacity, is provided for critical infrastructure components in the data center. Backup power is provided by various mechanisms such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) batteries, which supply consistently reliable power protection during utility brownouts, blackouts, over voltage, under voltage, and out-of-tolerance frequency conditions. If utility power is interrupted, backup power is designed to provide transitory power to the data center, at full capacity, for up to 10 minutes until the diesel generator systems take over. The diesel generators are capable of automatically starting up within seconds to provide enough emergency electrical power to run the data center at full capacity typically for a period of days.
- Semrush has designed and regularly plans and tests its business continuity planning/disaster recovery checks.
- When user data is copied electronically by Semrush outside the data center, appropriate physical security is maintained, and the data is encrypted at all times.
B. Access Control
- Preventing Unauthorized Services Access:
- Semrush hosts its Service with outsourced cloud infrastructure providers.
- Additionally, Semrush maintains contractual relationships with vendors in order to provide the Service in accordance with DPA. Semrush relies on contractual agreements, privacy policies, and vendor compliance procedures in order to protect data processed or stored by these vendors.
- Semrush hosts its Services infrastructure with multi-tenant, outsourced infrastructure providers.
- Semrush implemented a uniform password policy for its Services and correspondent tools and features. All passwords must fulfil defined minimum requirements and are stored in encrypted form. Users who interact with the Services via the user interface must authenticate before accessing non-public user data.
- User data is stored in multi-tenant storage systems accessible to users via only application user interfaces and application programming interfaces. Users are not allowed direct access to the underlying application infrastructure. The authorization model in each of the tools and features of the Services is designed to ensure that only the appropriately assigned individuals can access relevant features, views, and customization options. Authorization to data sets is performed through validating the user’s permissions.
- Public Services APIs may be accessed using an API key.
- Preventing Unauthorized Services Use. Semrush utilizes the following access controls and detection capabilities
for the internal networks that support its Services:
- Network access control mechanisms are designed to prevent network traffic using unauthorized protocols from reaching the Services infrastructure. The technical measures implemented differ between infrastructure providers and include Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) implementations, security group assignment, and traditional firewall rules.
- Semrush implemented a Web Application Firewall (WAF) solution to protect internet-accessible applications. The WAF is designed to identify and prevent attacks against publicly available network services.
- Security reviews of the parts of code stored in Semrush source code repositories are performed, checking for coding best practices and identifiable software flaws.
- Semrush conducts penetration tests annually. The intent of the penetration tests is to identify and resolve foreseeable attack vectors and potential abuse scenarios.
- A bug bounty program invites and incentivizes independent security researchers to ethically discover and disclose security flaws. Semrush implemented a bug bounty program in an effort to widen the available opportunities to engage with the security community and improve the Services defenses against sophisticated attacks.
- Authorization Requirements. A subset of Semrush and Semrush affiliates’ employees have access to user data via controlled interfaces. The intent of providing access to a subset of employees is to provide effective customer support, to troubleshoot potential problems, to detect and respond to security incidents and implement data security. Semrush and Semrush affiliates’ employees are required to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the Semrush guidelines regarding confidentiality, business ethics, appropriate usage, and professional standards.
C. Transmission Control
Semrush makes HTTPS encryption (also referred to as SSL or TLS) available on every one of its login interfaces. Semrush HTTPS implementation uses industry standard algorithms and certificates.
D. Input Control
- Semrush designed its infrastructure to log extensive information about the system behavior, traffic received, system authentication, and other application requests partly. Internal systems aggregate log data and alert appropriate employees of malicious, unintended, or anomalous activities. Semrush personnel, including security, are responsive to known incidents.
- Semrush maintains a record of known security incidents that includes description, dates and times of relevant activities, and incident disposition. Suspected and confirmed security incidents are investigated by security, operations, or support personnel; and appropriate resolution steps are identified and documented. For any confirmed incidents, Semrush will take appropriate steps to minimize User damage or unauthorized disclosure.
- If Semrush becomes aware of unlawful access to Semrush data stored within its Services, Semrush will:
- notify the affected Users of the incident;
- provide a description of the steps Semrush is taking to resolve the incident; and
- provide status updates to the User contact, as Semrush deems necessary.
- Notification(s) of incidents, if any, will be delivered to one or more of the User’s contacts in a form Semrush selects, which may include via email or telephone.
E. Availability Control
- The infrastructure providers use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure a minimum of 99.8% uptime. The providers maintain a minimum of N+1 redundancy to power, network, and HVAC services.
- Backup and replication strategies are designed to ensure redundancy and fail-over protections during a significant processing failure. Semrush data is backed up to multiple durable data stores and replicated across multiple availability zones. Semrush uses commercially reasonable efforts to create frequent, encrypted back-up copies of Protected Data and these are stored in geographically separate locations.
- Where feasible, production databases are designed to replicate data between no less than 1 primary and 1 secondary database. All databases are backed up and maintained using at least industry standard methods.
The Services are designed to ensure redundancy and seamless failover. The server instances that support the Services are also architected with a goal to prevent single points of failure. This design assists Semrush operations in maintaining and updating the Services applications and backend while limiting downtime.