Europe built sovereign clouds to escape US control. Forgot about the processors

Europe invested over €2 billion in sovereign cloud initiatives to reduce US legal control, but these systems rely heavily on Intel and AMD processors that contain management engines (Intel's CSME and AMD's PSP) operating below the operating system level, beyond the reach of host security software and European certification frameworks. These management engines have independent network connectivity and can be exploited as covert channels for data exfiltration, as demonstrated by state actors, creating a fundamental security vulnerability that European sovereignty frameworks fail to assess or control. The US RISAA 2024 law classifies hardware manufacturers as communications service providers subject to secret government orders, undermining Europe's sovereignty goals since the most critical layer of their infrastructure remains under American control and outside their certification requirements.