ICC pivots from Microsoft to open-source suite over US tech fears | Brussels to enlist online platforms in hybrid threat fight | Israel demanded Google & Amazon use secret signal to evade laws

Summary

The bulletin pulls three headlines together: the International Criminal Court (ICC) plans to replace Microsoft Office with a European open-source suite (Open Desk) amid worries about dependence on US tech; the European Commission is preparing a proposal to require big online platforms to detect and counter ‘hybrid threats’ under upcoming EU tech rules; and The Guardian reveals that Israel asked Google and Amazon to implement a secret ‘winking mechanism’ in a 2021 cloud deal to sidestep legal orders.

These items sit alongside a round-up of related tech and security news: EU moves on sovereign open-source infrastructure, government software deny-lists, corporate cyber fallout (Qantas), major AI data-centre plans in the US, rising chip demand tied to AI, and concerns about AI browsers and platform-led content controls.

Key Points

The ICC will migrate from Microsoft Office to Open Desk, a European open-source alternative, driven by concerns over reliance on US tech and political tensions.
The European Commission may compel platforms covered by landmark EU tech rules to detect and tackle hybrid threats such as coordinated disinformation and other influence operations.
The Guardian reports Israel required a secret ‘winking mechanism’ in a $1.2bn cloud deal with Google and Amazon in 2021, intended to limit foreign legal access to Israeli data.
EU member states are advancing a push for digital sovereignty, including a four-country initiative to develop open-source alternatives in AI, cloud and cybersecurity.
National security instincts are spurring tighter government controls: deny-lists for risky software and closer scrutiny of foreign-owned tech firms (e.g. Nexperia case).
Industry moves — OpenAI/Oracle data-centre plans, Nvidia’s diplomatic tech visits, and Samsung’s chip profit surge — underline the accelerating demand for AI infrastructure and geopolitical supply-chain tensions.
Regulatory and corporate responses to data control and platform risk are converging: platform obligations, sovereign stacks, and contract-level manoeuvres are becoming standard features of the tech-security landscape.

Context and relevance

Punchy take: the three lead stories together show a clear trend — states and public institutions are no longer content to accept the default cloud-and-office stack dominated by a few US firms. That shift is driven by tangled motives: real geopolitical risk, legal uncertainty over cross-border data access, and the growing political theatre around tech firms. The EU’s proposal to make platforms tackle hybrid threats signals regulators will demand operational responsibilities from private platforms, not just high-level rules. And the Guardian’s reporting about the ‘winking mechanism’ is a reminder that large cloud contracts can include clauses with serious global legal and policy implications.

For readers in government, tech policy, legal teams and security functions, these developments matter because they change procurement, compliance and incident response expectations. For vendors and platform operators, they signal higher operational burden and reputational risk when dealing with state clients.

Why should I read this?

Short version: if you care who controls data, how platforms will be policed, or how states try to bend cloud contracts to dodge foreign legal requests — this saves you time. It stitches together policy moves, a big contract saga, and the EU’s next regulatory step into one quick brief so you don’t miss the practical fallout.