New report warns NATO's data vulnerabilities could cost lives without US fix

A new report warns that NATO is unprepared for modern digital warfare. Without stronger leadership, especially from the U.S., the alliance could face serious security risks.

The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) released a study showing that many NATO members are failing to modernize their military data systems.

Although NATO leaders talk about the importance of secure and shared cloud infrastructure, most countries still store critical military information in local servers that are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The report calls data the "currency of warfare" and urges NATO to improve how it stores and shares military information.

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At the moment, most NATO countries are building separate national cloud systems. France uses Thales, Germany uses Arvato, and Italy is working with Leonardo to develop sovereign defense cloud services, according to the CEPA report Defend in the Cloud: Boost NATO Data Resilience.

The U.S. has its own approach, using Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle to build a sovereign cloud for the Department of Defense, as noted in the same CEPA report.

This fragmented setup is creating major problems. The CEPA report explains that many of these national systems are not interoperable, which makes it difficult for NATO allies to share intelligence or respond rapidly in times of crisis.

Although 22 NATO members have pledged to build shared cloud capabilities, progress has been slow. CEPA describes a gap between what leaders promise and what is actually getting done, and the process remains slow and overly bureaucratic.

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Some of the hesitation stems from political tensions.

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has reinforced his long-standing position that NATO members must meet their defense spending commitments.

In early 2025, Trump proposed raising the target above the current 2% benchmark and stated publicly that the U.S. would only defend NATO allies who meet what he considers their "fair share" of the burden.

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At the same time, Trump has taken credit for strengthening the alliance by pushing European governments to boost their defense budgets.

In March, he pointed to what he called "hundreds of billions of dollars" in new allied defense spending as proof that his pressure was effective. His administration continues to engage in high-level NATO meetings and has publicly affirmed support for the alliance’s core mission.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has worked to reassure European partners. During an April meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, he stated that the U.S. is "as active in NATO as it has ever been," pushing back on claims that the administration is disengaging.

According to statements published by the State Department and reported by Reuters, Rubio emphasized that Trump is not opposed to NATO itself, but to an alliance that is under-prepared or underfunded.

Rubio is also playing a central role in U.S. efforts to broker peace in Ukraine. In early 2025, he led direct talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia and presented Trump’s terms for a possible ceasefire, according to official State Department readouts and contemporaneous reporting by Reuters and other outlets.

Rubio has emphasized that Ukraine and European allies will remain closely involved in the process. After a pause in U.S. aid earlier this year, he announced that military support would resume once Kyiv signaled agreement with the proposed framework for peace.

Meanwhile, NATO continues to provide assistance to Ukraine through a trust fund valued at nearly $1 billion. This figure is based on NATO’s own reporting on its Comprehensive Assistance Package, as cited in CEPA’s April report.

The alliance is also coordinating training and equipment donations, but the CEPA report makes it clear that efforts are being slowed by a lack of secure data sharing.

The report points to Estonia as a model for digital resilience. Estonia backs up its government data in Luxembourg through a "data embassy" system, ensuring it remains protected even if local systems are attacked. NATO, according to CEPA, should encourage similar strategies across the alliance.

According to CEPA, the U.S. is best positioned to lead the way, with Trump and Rubio already taking the necessary steps to push NATO in the right direction.The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

CEPA's report can be reviewed here.