Belgium’s cybersecurity chief warns that Europe has lost the internet to US tech giants

Miguel de Bruycker, the head of the Belgian Cybersecurity Center, stated that the technological capabilities of European countries do not allow for all data to be stored exclusively within European cloud resources, noting that American companies still hold a dominant position in the digital infrastructure market.

Speaking to the Financial Times, de Bruycker assessed the current situation with the following words:

“We have lost all cloud technologies. Let’s be honest, we lost the internet. If I want 100% of my information to be stored in the EU… that is just a dream; you are setting an unrealistic goal for yourself.”

What matters is sovereignty, not dependence

De Bruycker pointed out that Europe’s cyber defense relies on the cooperation of private companies, most of which are American-owned. However, according to the official, this dependency does not pose a “major problem” for EU security.

The Belgian official argued that the most important issue is sovereignty in the fields of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, which will ensure the resilience of European countries against cyberattacks.

Call for domestic production instead of fighting American companies

Emphasizing that calls for strengthening technological sovereignty in European countries have been made but often remain at the level of discussion, de Bruycker said:

“We must clearly define what digital infrastructure sovereignty means for us at the EU level. Instead of focusing on how to stop American ‘hyperscale players,’ we should spend our energy… on creating something of our own.”

The target of cyberattacks is not data theft

De Bruycker stated that the systems of at least 20 different organizations are attacked by hackers every day. He claimed that “Russian ‘hacktivists'” are mostly behind these attacks.

However, the official expressed that he does not see a great danger in such leaks, as the aim of the hackers is not to steal secret data but to disrupt the operation of a specific site or service.

Russia has previously denied cyberattack allegations multiple times.

The Financial Times reported in a news article published in October 2025 that the European Union is developing a new strategy in the field of artificial intelligence to reduce its technological dependence not only on the US but also on China.

According to the draft, the new strategy aims to increase the competitiveness of European industry as well as ensure security and resilience.