AWS forms EU-based cloud unit as customers fret about Trump 2.0

In a nod to European customers' growing mistrust of American hyperscalers, Amazon Web Services says it is establishing a new organization in the region "backed by strong technical controls, sovereign assurances, and legal protections." Ever since the Trump 2.0 administration assumed office and implemented an erratic and …

[mark l 2]

Unless the data is encrypted with a encryption key that Amazon do not know, then it doesn't matter how much EU based personnel and infrastructure AWS, Azure or Google have your data its still at the mercy of the US authorities if you have it on servers operated by a US company.

[b0llchit]

That isn't enough. It is readable once it is running and they have access to the machines/hardware. Thus, game over.

Don't use US companies' infrastructure anywhere in the world. The safest way is local firms and on-premise/co-loc installs with all local companies. Use well educated and vetted admins. Also, don't use local companies where a US corp has a stake for any admin/access purpose. That could be abused too.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Would you trust your data to a Russian or Chinese cloud company if they said "don't worry the servers are in Europe" ?

[Secon]

100% correct.

The EDPB made quite clear in their post Schrems II interim guidance that if data is decrypted IN the Cloud it cannot be considered an effective measure to protect that data FROM the Cloud provider.

Crypto gives significant benefits, but protection if your data from the cloud provider if you process or access the data in the cloud - even if they don’t hold the key - is not one of them.

[Doctor Syntax]

It doesn't even matter if it's encrypted. If the next brainfart is to sanction your company, country or continent the plug would have to be pulled. A franchise operation might be OK of the entire ownership is locally owned and managed and all the IP licenced under irrevocable terms with the contract subject to local law. Anything which gives a US-owned entity a way in after the contract has been signed is just theatre.

[Anonymous Coward]

They also need to address the elephant in the resiliency room of the seeming critical AWS ecosystem dependency on the overloaded US-East-1 Region. I’m guessing AWS are running DNS on a NT 3.51 IBM PS/2 Model 80 tower under Jazzy’s desk :-)

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

I'm sure the laptop running the DNS has a post-it note saying "Do NOT close lid"

[Anonymous Coward]

and they've lost the reference floppy.

[Dr Paul Taylor]

Never mind the CLOUD ACT

Once his Orangeness gets Bezos by the goolies, all this "legal protection" will go to the wall.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Never mind the CLOUD ACT

Yes, Bezos already made it clear he'll meekly follow Trump with his directive to the Washington Post.

[bronskimac]

Ye, right!

When the US authorities come knocking, with threats against the US company's business, they will cave in an instant.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Ye, right!

>When the US authorities come knocking, with threats against the US company's business,

The USA doesn't do that sort of heavy handed intimidation.

There would be a Tweet saying "CEO of $CORP$ is a very bad man, very bad"

[JimmyPage]

Please tell me there's no one stupid enough to fall for this ?

anyone who does deserves all they get.

Are Amazon pointing at US laws and saying "Look, these will be your protection" ?

Pur-lease.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Please tell me there's no one stupid enough to fall for this ?

They will fall for it, including governments. People need to stop looking at these things from a nation state, common sense perspective. The people in the driving seats think global and control. They don't care if there are squabbles between countries as long as they are not harmed by it. And it's not about the money because they magic up money, it's about power and control globally.

Oh and Trump is not your enemy, well not the one to fear at least, it's people in the shadows, in the central banks, intel agencies, the global institutions like WHO & UN, NGOs and even they are all tools but important ones and they do not like nation state democracies and autonomy because they want that power.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Please tell me there's no one stupid enough to fall for this ?

Sorry .... BUT ..... Trump IS YOUR ENEMY !!!

He is random & uncontrolled with ONLY one focus Greed & Money.

There may be others in the shadows holding onto his coattails BUT he is in control.

As usual the people who whisper into his ear may have influence BUT it will only last until his next tantrum when random people are sacked. !!!

Both Trump & Putin are uncontrolled egos !!!

:)

[The man with a spanner]

Re: Please tell me there's no one stupid enough to fall for this ?

"Sorry .... BUT ..... Trump IS YOUR ENEMY !!!"

In the imediate case I agree with you.

Trump is currently ricocheting around breaking everything including the current structures and safeguardes both internationaly and domesticaly. He is motivated by greed, power and a masive narcasistic ego moderated by absolutly zero moral compass. Trumps arrogance and stupidity (he realy is thick) mixed with his weiredly charismatic charm (to his followers at least) and an intuitive political sense linked to his short attention span, lack of knowlege of the world and his constant 24/7 need to have his ego re- fueled makes him very unpredictable and dangerous.

Putin (not a particularly pleasent chap) on the other hand is consistant and therefore to some degree understandable and predictable.

Trump is making a lot of noise, breaking things and creating anarchy whilst in the shadows the odd alliance of the likes of Peter Theil, the techno dystopia bro's and the stone age fundimentalism of the far right christian sects progress with their vision of the future. These are the people I really fear.

Move quickly and break things is only the first step.

[kmorwath]

Re: Please tell me there's no one stupid enough to fall for this ?

Of course they will. All they need is a sheet of paper that shields them from any resonsibility. That's how "decision makers" work. "Amazon told us it was safe! See this contract? I'm not responsible. I'll collect my bonus, thank you". It's just butt-protection. Brown envelops will do the rest.

[Empire of the Pussycat]

Remember when the USA said, 'don't trust Huawei'...

...because the Chinese government can tell them what to do?

In the age of Trump, the same now applies to every USA-based supplier.

[Wang Cores]

Legally Trump is also a felon and legally a felon can't stand for office.

Legal means merry fuck all.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

> legally a felon can't stand for office.

Are you sure? I mean the whole country is founded by terrorists

[Dan 55]

They're not terrorists, they're freedom fighters in pick-up trucks.

[John Hawkins]

Guess he meant the Sons of Liberty who would be definitely be locked up as terrorists by the present administration. I'm pretty sure that Paul Revere would have been shot also, for running away from the authorities.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

They did throw private property into Boston Harbour - sounds like terrorism

[HMcG]

Sounds like tearrorism.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure the King considered it terrorism. :)

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

The king of America considers damage to Teslas to be terrorism

[Dan 55]

Seems the court jester's fallen out with the king so the king could just as quickly forget about investigating damage to Swasticars and pull the plug on broadband funding for Czarlink.

[Paul Crawford]

Simple test: if $CLOUD was from {Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, $BOGEYMAN_DU_JOUR} would you put your trust and critical data in it with similar EU-based promises?

If the answer is no, then it should also be no for the USA these days.

[Anonymous Coward]

Wrong! It should be no for critical services for any other country or system you do not own and control. I warned about this more than a decade ago. Do not think that your friend today is necessarily your friend tomorrow. In microcosm, who do you trust when the chips are down? Your family. They are the least likely to do you in. Not that they never will either, just they're the last.

[Roland6]

There is much to be said for a well woven set of interdepencies between countries to encourage peaceful co-existence. However, it only takes a toddler tantrum...

One of the objectives of leaving the EU was to increase the UK's trade and interdependence with the world outside of the EU, particularly with the US; something Trump has very quickly turned into a bit of a car crash.

[midgepad]

It didn't have to wait for Trump.

[Doctor Syntax]

"Regardless of Amazon's data sovereignty pledge, the parent company remains under American ownership"

So everything else is window dressing. No need to even give the small print a careful look.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure?

I wonder. A while back I remember some services experiencing problems in the US, S3 I think, and it affected all round the world. At that time AWS people had been saying the regions run fine isolated if only using the regionally delivered services. I suppose for that to happen ALL regional services must include all global name services replicated regionally?

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump

I see the constant sniping about Trump on here. He really is not the problem. Trump is different, he jokes, he trolls, he tries to position to negotiate and he speaks directly and in an odd way. But he really is doing more to preserve freedom and democracy than his predecessors have going back some time now. There are many people around him, they, like him, may not be all good and many are inexperienced compared to others but he had to make sure he didn't repeat the mistakes of choosing people loyal to the machine.

There are huge problems and we are close to the event horizon of disaster probably due to the corruption of the monetary system that started in 1971 but some argue prior. I don't know if Trump is truly on the people's side or is just manouvering himself to be top dog but he is trying to save his platform which is America. He may fail, he may screw up.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Trump

Oh Dear ... where to start ..... ???!!!

You know what .... sod it .... it is too late now ... America is too broken now to recover ... decline has started !!!!

:)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Trump

looks like we found a nazi supporter!!

i'd give congrats for coming out, can we have your real name so we can block your crap

[Plest]

Re: Trump

This is why I love the liberals and left, they don't have anything constructive to add to a debate so they simply start behaving like silly children calling everyone names, please just grow up. If you wish to engage, then deconstuct the OP's points, if you have nothing to add then just pipe down.

And no, I have no love for Trump as he's an erratic nusiance, same as I have no love for Biden, Harris, Starmer, Bandenoch, Farage, Lowe, Macron, nor the whole to the EU, as they're all just in the politics game for what they personally can get from it. No politician these days serves the people who elect them, they only serve their own selfish interests.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Trump

the OP didn't make any points he just said utter bullshit for example:

"But he really is doing more to preserve freedom and democracy than his predecessors have going back some time now"

nice attempt at pretending not to be a far right maga loon, we are not falling for that "both the same" bullshit!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Trump

"he speaks directly and in an odd way"

“I have the best words.”

[Anonymous Coward]

The US can still sanction any operations they want and get AWS to turn them off. They've done it with the Amsterdam Trade Bank, and for individuals at the International Criminal Court.

While data theft is a problem, denial of service is a much, much more likely problem.

This legal structure doesn't really fundamentally change that.

It's why Europe's addiction to Microsoft Office+US Cloud providers is an enormous strategic weakness, Trump can disable the vast majority of organisations whenever he likes.

[Rob]

On paper it seems like that but checks and balances will kick in. If he issued an order to cut off a lot of organisations that pay money to the likes of MS and Google, do you think those businesses will allow that amount of damage to their proifts. That sort of bad press will ripple across the planet and the organisations can't survive on just the US market, they are now just as reliant on their foreign customers to survive, if Trump hurts too many of them in one go, I'm fairly certain that the likes of MS and Google will take it too court to stop the damage to their business model.

Trump thinks he is the be all and end all and that was enforced because his early executive decisions weren't challanged quick enough, now the judicary branch of the US Government has woken up a bit and is doing what it should, which is checks and balances on the executive branch. This is how the founding fathers set out their constitution, they could forsee the chance of corruption and tried to limit it as much as possible hence the 3 branches to keep each other in check.

Not saying it's perfect but that was the original idea when they formed their constitution.

[Dan 55]

The US constitution is an out-of-date joke. The executive branch is in charge of enforcement, the judicial and legislative branches have no real way to enforce anything, and nobody can do anything about rogue president especially when the other two benches are dominated by the same party which don't want to do their job. If one judge stops something the president ordered then another can be found to restart it again. The president is a king in all but name and as for this famous well-regulated militia, it seems it only operates in schools.

[vekkq]

Could hypothetically work. If the US company comes nocking with a Cloud Act notice, the EU business can deny access to data on EU law grounds. Despite US ownership, the EU business cannot be threatened and harmed so easily by US gov orgs.

[Roland6]

The question is whether the new AWS ESC parent company is effectively a European owned franchise and thus independent of Amazon Inc. or a company that Amazon Inc is still the majority shareholder.

[Dan 55]

From TFA:

Regardless of Amazon's data sovereignty pledge, the parent company remains under American ownership

Everything else is smoke and mirrors.

[may_i]

No.

The access under the Cloud Act would be requested from Microsoft under the terms of a National Security Letter. Microsoft can't even talk about that letter, so there would be zero chance to "deny access".

[ChrisElvidge]

To be EU based is not enough, it has to be completely EU owned as well, not a subsidiary of Amazon (Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet).

Hardware EU bought. Software not leased (licensed) from A,M,M,A.

[Anonymous Coward]

Trust me bro, its definitely a sovereign cloud...

Does anyone believe this nonsense? It's not a sovereign cloud, it's still subject to US oversight and controls. Or are Amazon saying that Amazon corp have zero ownership or shareholding at all in the slightest? Nope, didn't think so.

Sad that CIOs will fall for this rubbish