A new report warns that NATO is not preparing for modern digital warfare. Without stronger leadership, especially from the United States, the alliance could face serious security risks.

The European Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA) has released a study showing that many NATO members have failed to modernize their military data systems.

Although NATO leaders talk about the importance of secure and shared cloud infrastructure, most countries still store critical military information in local servers that are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The report calls the data a “war currency” and urges NATO to improve the way it stores and shares military information.

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Currently, most NATO countries are building separate national cloud systems. According to the CEPA report's defense in "Cloud: Boost Nato Data Resiliention", France uses Thales, Germany uses Arvato, and Italy is working with Leonardo to develop sovereign cloud services.

As stated in the same CEPA report, the United States has adopted its own approach to building a sovereign cloud for the Department of Defense using Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle.

This dispersed setup is causing major problems. The CEPA report explains that many countries have no interoperability systems, making it difficult for NATO allies to share intelligence or respond quickly during crisis times.

Although NATO 22 members have promised to build shared cloud capabilities, progress has been slow. CEPA describes the gap between leaders’ commitments and what actually accomplishes, and the process remains slow and too bureaucratic.

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Some hesitation stems from political tensions.

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has strengthened his long-term position that NATO members must fulfill their defense spending commitments.

In early 2025, Trump proposed to raise his target above the current 2% benchmark and publicly stated that the United States would only defend NATO allies that fit into the "fair share" he believes he is burdened with.

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Meanwhile, Trump has received praise for pushing European governments to strengthen the alliance by strengthening their defense budget.

In March, he pointed out what he called “ten billions of dollars” in new Allied defense spending to prove that his pressure was effective. His administration continued to participate in the High NATO meeting and publicly confirmed its support for the coalition’s core mission.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is committed to assurance to European partners. At a meeting with NATO Foreign Secretary in Brussels in April, he said the United States was "as active in NATO as it was before," overturning the claim that the government was breaking away from the government.

According to a statement published by the State Department and reported by Reuters, Rubio stressed that Trump is not against NATO itself, but rather an under-prepared or under-funded coalition.

Rubio also played a central role in the U.S.’s efforts to establish peace in Ukraine. According to official Reuters readers and simultaneous reports, he negotiated directly with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in early 2025 and proposed Trump's possible ceasefire clause.

Rubio stressed that Ukraine and European allies will continue to participate in the process. After aid in the U.S. earlier this year, he announced that military support would be restored once Kiev reached an agreement with the proposed peace framework.

Meanwhile, NATO continues to provide assistance to Ukraine through a trust fund worth nearly $1 billion. The figure is based on NATO's report on its comprehensive aid program, as stated in the CEPA report in April.

The alliance is also coordinating training and equipment donations, but the CEPA report clearly shows that efforts are slowing down due to the lack of secure data sharing.

The report points to Estonia as a model of digital resilience. Estonia provides government data in Luxembourg through the “data embassy” system, which remains protected even when local systems are attacked. According to CEPA, NATO should encourage similar strategies across the league.

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According to CEPA, the United States is better to lead, and Trump and Rubio have taken the necessary steps to push NATO in the right direction.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

CEPA's report can be reviewed here.