From Sovereign Operating Systems to the Sovereign Digital Chain

Abstract

This chapter is a mostly non technical reflection on the concept of ‘Sovereign Operating System’ in the modern context of a globalized world. In a modern world, where software and data will potentially be driving anything in a near future, a nation sovereignty cannot be restricted to territory questions such as land, air, sea property and frontiers, or to general regulation of the national activity. It is either demonstrated or well admitted that many software pieces, including Operating System, include backdoors that can either be used to spy information on a system and send it to unauthorized parties, or be used by some unauthorized parties to take control of local or connected devices. Furthermore, nowadays, more and more third-party internet services (APIs) are integrated deeply in some modern OSes, and can be considered as fully part of them. Also some issues are suspected with networks and Internet, were massive amounts of data can be catched and analyzed illegally by hackers and countries, breaking confidentiality of information at corporate or government levels. Even computer hardware cannot be excluded from possible takeovers as there are some rising evidences that some modern CPUs include backdoors by design. Therefore, it appears clearly that the Operating System, even in its modern form, can not be considered alone regarding the digital sovereignty question, as all parts of the digital chain in data processing and transit has to be carefully examined and reinforced.