The idea that the world’s tech giants manage all the data in the world sparks concern, even fear but is it really true? No, is the short answer. But who manages the rest, and what does it all mean for us, data security and cyber insurance risks?

The big four (or should that be three?)

Amazon (Web Services), Google (Cloud Platform), Microsoft (Azure) and Meta dominate cloud computing and there’s a perception that the big four hold all the power.

Although, many believe Meta uses Amazon Web Services to manage its data exclusively, so maybe it’s the big three.

Either way, it’s thought these companies control 65% of the global cloud infrastructure market.

That’s a staggering amount and the risks seem terrifying when you consider how many businesses, apps, and government systems depend on the cloud to store and process data.

Everything from streaming your favourite shows to banking transactions and healthcare records could flow through servers managed by these companies.

Who manages the remaining 35% of data?

Whilst the cloud and the big three maintain the lion’s share of data, many organisations manage their data independently.

Governments for instance use private data centres or classified networks.

Large enterprises like banks and telecommunications companies maintain their own data infrastructure and small businesses and individuals often use physical devices, private servers or alternative hosting providers.

There are other providers too, like Oracle, IBM, Alibaba Cloud and Digital Ocean which collectively serve millions of users worldwide, and we don’t know how much data Chinese and Russian companies host.

The idea that three companies ‘own’ all data is an exaggeration, but it highlights just how much influence they have.

Data ownership v data management

There’s a fear that with all this influence, the big three might be reading your emails or watching your files but managing data is different to owning it.

When you upload files to the cloud or use SaaS platforms, the provider manages the infrastructure, but you still own the data.

The tech giants have access to metadata, usage patterns, and, in some cases, even content (depending on privacy policies and user agreements) which certainly gives them unparalleled insight into global digital activity.

They might not be reading your emails, but it’s right to be vigilant about surveillance and data privacy, and monopolies are a real concern.

What are the risks of monopolising data?

Even if three companies don’t manage all the world’s data, their dominance means that outages in a single cloud provider could ripple across the web, regulatory or legal actions targeting one of them can affect millions and the concentration of technical talent, innovation, and control creates barriers for smaller competitors.

We rely on digital systems for everything from education to elections, so this centralisation of infrastructure poses real challenges, not just technical, but ethical and societal too.

What does it mean for cyber insurance?

Taking Amazon Web Services as an example, if it was seriously hacked, the consequences could be catastrophic for the global economy, national security and billions of users. Depending on the severity and spread of the hack, cyber insurers might not be able to meet the liability claims.

But should we be that worried? Probably not.

No system is 100% immune, but Amazon Web Services has some of the most robust security protocols in the world and most real-world ‘breaches’ are user-side misconfigurations, not platform-wide failures.

Layers of protection, like network segmentation which isolates systems so one breach doesn’t open access to all, also mitigate the risks.

A holistic hack, impacting all Amazon customers simultaneously is therefore unlikely, especially as isolated networks would have end-to-end encryption within.

It should, in theory, be enough to prevent global losses and that’s what cyber insurers rely on when they cover thousands of organisations, all hosting their data via the big three.