Dutch government working on its own secure cloud
The Dutch government has begun designing its own 'sovereign cloud.' This is a digital system over which the government has full control. The goal is to become less dependent on large foreign tech companies, such as American providers.
Currently, the government uses commercial cloud services for many digital tasks. This entails risks for the privacy of citizens and the security of sensitive government information. With its own cloud, the government wants to guarantee that all data remains within Dutch borders and is managed according to its own strict rules.
The plan is for the cloud to run on data centers that are owned by the government itself or controlled by the government. This gives the Dutch state more control over the security of important data. The project is currently still in the design phase, in which experts are investigating how this can best be implemented technically.
This step is part of a larger movement within the European Union to increase digital independence. Many European countries want to prevent giving too much power to a few large international companies. By building a secure infrastructure itself, the Netherlands hopes to safeguard digital sovereignty for the future.