German telco questions security of US cloud services

An executive at Deutsche Telekom says authorities need to start regionally certifying cloud service providers, so that customers can be confident about the security of their data.

According to a Bloomberg report, Reinhard Clemens, CEO of the company's IT division, T-Systems, has made the suggestion in light of customer concerns that providers in the US could be forced by their government to hand over data, under the terms of the country's Patriot Act.

"The Americans say that no matter what happens I'll release the data to the government if I'm forced to do so, from anywhere in the world," Clemens says.

"Certain German companies don't want others to access their systems. That's why we're well-positioned if we can say we're a European provider in a European legal sphere and no American can get to them.

Deutsche Telekom is currently trying to exit the American market, but the sale of its US division, T-Mobile USA, to AT-T has been flagged by the US Justice Department as anti-competitive.