"Americans can make our data in the cloud inaccessible."

So headlined a brief report from RTL Z this morning (source). In light of current geopolitical tensions, it is becoming increasingly realistic for the US government to use technology companies as strategic weapons.

What if the big red button is pushed?

Since about 80% of the global cloud infrastructure is owned by US companies, the US president could – theoretically – “at the touch of a button” make all the data of European companies and governments inaccessible. This could have disastrous consequences for essential processes at hospitals, ministries, governments and large industrial companies, among others. Dependence on foreign technology is thus not only an IT issue, but also a potential geopolitical risk.

Lessons from the past

Experts draw parallels to Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. When Russia turned off the gas tap, acute problems arose for businesses and households. A similar scenario now threatens in the digital world: what if America, due to a trade conflict or geopolitical crisis, restricts access to cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud?

Possible solutions

IT experts advocate the development of a national, independent cloud infrastructure, often referred to as a “Dutch cloud. A historical precedent for this is Radio Kootwijk, which was built around 1920 after the Netherlands decided to set up its own radio infrastructure after the British deliberately interrupted connections to the Dutch East Indies several times.

Yet such a cloud solution is not imminent. Therefore, organizations should start thinking about secure alternatives now, such as on-premise storage. This avoids dependence on U.S. suppliers, protects data from geopolitical influences and guarantees continuous availability – without the influence of a foreign government.

What if your organization runs out of cloud access tomorrow? Don’t wait until it’s too late.