More than three-quarters of European countries rely on U.S. cloud services for critical national security functions, a report said Friday, warning that adoption could leave governments vulnerable to security risks.
And the warning comes at a time when European governments are increasingly concerned that vital digital services could be subjected to what is known as the US “kill switch” in the event of escalating tensions with the administration of President Donald Trump.
And Tobias Bacherle, of the Institute for the Future of Technology in Brussels, said: “Russia and Putin are waging war against a European country in Ukraine, but we have also seen a US president threatening Denmark and Greenland, and this geopolitical shift must be taken into account.”
And national security systems in 23 of the 28 countries surveyed rely heavily on U.S. technologies, including the European Union and Britain.
The report warned that vital digital services could be vulnerable to a US measure known as the “kill switch”, especially in Germany, Poland and Britain, which are among the most prominent military powers in Europe, while Austria was rated as less vulnerable.
The concept of the "sovereign cloud"
And some European countries have begun to look for local or European alternatives in the field of technology, prompting American companies to provide “sovereign cloud” services that they say are beyond Washington’s control.
But the report made clear that the concept "does not address core dependency," warning that these systems may still be subject to U.S. CLOUD law, which allows U.S. authorities to request data stored outside the United States.
The researchers also noted that U.S. companies may also be forced to halt updates and technical support as a result of U.S. sanctions.
And last year, Washington withheld services from Ukraine, including satellite imagery from the U.S. company Maxar, following a political row between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
"What happened to Kiev could happen to London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin," said Katja Bigot of Britain's Chatham House Center, adding that it was "an existential alarm and a profound national security risk."
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