US cloud 'kill switch' is as dangerous as ransomware, European businesses fear

European firms are more concerned about a potential US government-imposed 'kill switch' for cloud services than almost anything else.

In a survey of 1,500 businesses in the UK, France, and Germany, Proton found that with many having built their operations around a small number of US-based providers, they're worried that access to those platforms could be restricted overnight.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they were at least somewhat concerned about a kill switch cutting off access to technology services, with only one-in-twenty not concerned at all.

This ranked cloud service-related concerns roughly on-par with worries about ransomware attacks, the company noted.

In a worst-case scenario, businesses are prepared to react, however. Two-thirds said they would switch to an alternative provider if access was blocked. UK businesses were the most willing to move, at 75%, followed by Germany at 68% and France at 61%.

It's worth noting that this is a reactive strategy. Indeed, only 44% have a business continuity plan that's both documented and regularly tested, meaning that most would be switching under pressure without a tested fallback in place.

"The kill switch is no longer an abstract geopolitical concern but a business continuity crisis," said Raphaël Auphan, chief operating officer at Proton.

"The fact that concern about a government-imposed kill switch is virtually indistinguishable from concern about ransomware tells something significant: geopolitical risk applied to digital dependence is no longer a boardroom abstraction. It is joining the same threat register as criminal attacks, with the same sense of urgency and the same expectation that it could materialize without warning."

Kill switch impact could be disastrous

Businesses worry the effects of an event like this could be severe. More than half (55%) said they couldn't survive more than a day without cloud and digital services before being forced to shut down.

The two main impacts were the same across all markets surveyed: leaving employees unable to stay productive and the inability to serve or support customers, both cited by 36%.

Crucially, the financial consequences could be serious too, with most small businesses estimating losses of between €5,000 and €9,999, and medium businesses between €10,000 and €49,999.

The stakes are higher at large businesses, where 45% expect to lose more than €50,000 from a single day of downtime, and 29% expect losses exceeding €100,000.

Is a US-imposed kill switch possible?

The fear of a US kill switch is not an unreasonable one, according to Proton. The firm noted that US president Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed anger about European tech regulations, particularly with regard to competition and data privacy.

In early 2025, Trump signed a memorandum pledging to protect American companies from “overseas extortion”. The memorandum specifically named the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Microsoft president Brad Smith stoked further fears after claiming the tech giant would resort to litigation to protect EU customers from US government shut down demands.

The European Commission is working to reduce dependency on US firms. In April, lawmakers awarded a tender worth up to €180 million to four providers and consortiums to procure sovereign cloud services for EU bodies over six years.

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