Industry Voice: Rethinking cybersecurity and how businesses can truly secure themselves in 2025

Why genuine security is only possible with digital sovereignty and how IONOS is laying the foundation.

Free webinar: Build cloud infrastructure – secure and sovereign for the future.

With Donald Trump back in the White House, the geopolitical landscape has significantly shifted. The US is taking an increasingly aggressive stance towards European interests – particularly in the digital sphere. Meanwhile, state-sponsored cyberattacks from Russia and China are escalating. The reality is clear. Cybersecurity today must be more than just technical excellence – it’s a matter of strategic location.

Companies that rely on platforms outside of European jurisdiction are effectively opening the door to state intervention, industrial espionage, and data misuse. What may seem economically advantageous today could quickly become a security risk tomorrow.

AI, the new game changer for attackers

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the threat landscape. Phishing emails, social engineering attacks, and deepfakes are no longer crafted manually – they’re automated, personalised, and deployed at scale. AI lowers the entry barriers for attackers and significantly increases the success rate of their campaigns.

According to IDC, two-thirds of German IT security professionals now view AI as the biggest threat to their cybersecurity – even more so than ransomware. Yet AI also holds enormous potential for defence, provided it is developed and deployed within a legally compliant and operationally sovereign environment.

"If you don't protect your data and applications, you won't have a business tomorrow,” says Dr. Jochen Haller, Head of Information Security at IONOS.

“Security starts with location – but true digital sovereignty requires more: it requires full control over infrastructure, data and, above all, the legal jurisdiction. Only those who remain under European jurisdiction can truly secure their digital future.”

Security becomes a compliance mandate and a leadership decision.

New regulations such as the NIS2 Directive, the EU AI Act, and the Supply Chain Act are making cybersecurity a legal requirement. But regulatory compliance alone is not enough. The key question remains: Who has access to your data – and under which jurisdiction? In Germany, public cloud services are classified as critical infrastructure under KRITIS regulations. However, seemingly “European” cloud services offered by major US providers remain vulnerable to foreign legislation like the US CLOUD Act and other non-European laws. Businesses relying on these platforms risk legal grey areas and a loss of data control.

Europe's sovereign cloud platform, IONOS

IONOS provides a 100% independent, GDPR-compliant, and future-proof cloud infrastructure – developed and operated in the EU. In concrete terms, this means:

Sovereign cybersecurity in action with G DATA & IONOS

What does a truly sovereign security architecture look like? G DATA CyberDefense, a pioneer in European IT security, is a prime example. With its cloud-based malware scanning service. Verdict-as-a-Service (VaaS), G DATA analyses files in real time – from the moment of upload to the final security verdict.

The key difference: G DATA does not operate VaaS on a global hyperscaler cloud but on the IONOS Cloud – fully GDPR-compliant, highly available, and scalable within German datacentres. Thanks to the managed Kubernetes architecture provided by IONOS, the service scales automatically – from 100 to 40 million files per day. New clients can be fully operational within just 15 minutes.

In 2025, security means sovereignty

Cybersecurity doesn’t end at the firewall, it starts with the infrastructure. In 2025, businesses that want to protect themselves effectively need more than technical solutions. They need control, transparency, and genuine digital independence.

IONOS delivers the platform to make that happen – as the leading sovereign cloud provider for businesses and institutions across Europe. Secure. Scalable.100% European.

Learn more in the webinar: Build cloud infrastructure – secure and sovereign for the future