75% of European Businesses Fear US Tech Kill Switch as 54.5% Could Last 1 Day
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Aug 6
75% of European Businesses Fear US Tech Kill Switch as 54.5% Could Last 1 Day
1 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Aug 6
Summary
Proton’s survey of about 1,500 decision-makers in the UK, France and Germany found 75% of European businesses fear a US-linked tech kill switch could cut off cloud and digital services overnight.
54.5% said they could keep operating for one business day or less if access vanished, and respondents estimated roughly €100,000 in losses from a single day of downtime.
That concern now rivals cyber risk: just under 75% said they fear a government-imposed kill switch as much as cyberattacks or ransomware, while only 1 in 20 reported no such concern.
The report argues the vulnerability is not uniquely European, because any company heavily dependent on a single vendor can be disrupted and may also lose customers as clients seek more sovereign alternatives.
44% said they already have resilience plans focused on backup email and cloud storage, as EU governments and lawmakers push to reduce reliance on foreign tech providers.