Lead

A report published Friday has found that more than three-quarters of European countries rely on American cloud computing services for vital national security functions, warning that this dependency could expose governments to significant vulnerabilities. The analysis comes amid growing European concerns that digital services could be subject to an American "kill switch" if tensions with the administration of US President Donald Trump escalate.

Coverage Comparison

Two sources — Dawn and The Hindu — reported on the report's release. Both outlets emphasized the core finding that a substantial majority of European countries depend on US cloud providers for national security functions. Dawn provided more detail, including specific figures about the number of countries affected and examples of high-risk nations. The Hindu's coverage was more concise, focusing on the general dependency and mentioning that some European capitals have sought alternative tech procurement options.

Key Claims

The report, produced by the Brussels-based Future of Technology Institute (FOTI), examined 28 countries — the EU member states plus Britain. Researchers looked at public information from defence ministry websites, national media, and EU and UK public procurement records to identify major cloud computing contracts with American providers including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Oracle.

Key findings from the report include:

  • National security systems in 23 of the 28 countries studied appear to rely on US technology.
  • Sixteen of the 28 countries are considered at high risk of being affected by a potential US "kill switch," including Germany, Poland, and Britain — Europe's key military powers.
  • Only Austria, which is neutral and not a NATO member, was classified as lower risk.
Tobias Bacherle of FOTI commented on the geopolitical context, saying: "Russia and Putin are waging a war against a European country in Ukraine… but we also had a US president threatening Denmark and Greenland. This geopolitical shift needs to be taken into account."

Perspectives

Some European capitals have already sought domestic or European options for tech procurement, a move that has prompted American firms to offer "sovereign" cloud computing services that they claim are beyond Washington's reach. However, FOTI warned that such branding fails to address underlying dependencies, noting that these systems could still fall under the CLOUD Act, which allows American authorities to demand that companies hand over data stored abroad. American companies could also be forced to cut off maintenance and security updates by US sanctions.