EUCS Cybersecurity Scheme Don't Discriminate Amazon, Google, Microsoft

The EUCS policy for cloud services should not discriminate against Amazon, Google and Microsoft. (photo: dock. special)

JAKARTA - The EU-proposed cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCS) for cloud services should not discriminate against Amazon, Google and Microsoft. This was said by 26 industry groups across Europe on Monday, June 17.

The European Commission, EU cybersecurity agency ENISA, and EU countries will meet on Tuesday 18 June to discuss a scheme that has undergone several changes since ENISA revealed a draft in 2020.

The EUCS aims to help governments and companies choose safe and trusted vendors for their cloud computing business. The global cloud computing industry generates billions of euros in annual revenue, expected with double-digit growth.

The March version removes sovereignty requirements from previous proposals, requiring US tech giants to set up a joint venture or cooperate with EU-based companies to store and process customer data on the bloc in order to qualify for the highest level of EU cybersecurity labels.

"We believe that an inclusive and non-discriminatory EUCS supporting cloud service-free movement in Europe will help our members develop at home and abroad, contribute to Europe's digital ambitions, and strengthen its resilience and security," the groups said in a joint letter to EU countries.

"The removal of ownership control and protection against illegal access (PUA)/immunity to non-EU (INL) laws ensures that cloud security improvements are in line with industry best practices and non-discriminatory principles," they added.

The groups say that it is very important for their members to have access to a variety of tough cloud technologies that are tailored to their specific needs to develop in an increasingly competitive global market.

The signing of the letter includes the American Chamber of Commerce for the European Union in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Spain, as well as the Federation of European Payment Institutions.

Other signings include the Czech Industrial Confederation, Danish Industrial Dansk, German Banken Bundesverband Deutscher, Polish Digital Association, Irish business lobby group IBEC, Dutch NL Digital, and the Spanish Start-up Association.

European Union cloud vendors such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Airbus have pushed for sovereignty requirements within the EUCS for fear the non-EU government could illegally access European data under their law.