Microsoft’s GitHub gives clients option to keep sensitive code in EU only, in data sovereignty push
Microsoft-owned GitHub says that 90% of the world’s open-source projects are stored on its code repository platform.
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto via Getty Images
Microsoft-owned developer platform GitHub on Tuesday said it is giving enterprise users the ability to limit the storage of their sensitive software code to data centers located in the European Union.
The move, which is part of a bid to meet the bloc’s strict data protection requirements, comes amid a broader political push for digital “sovereignty.”
The company said that it would offer customers of its GitHub Enterprise Cloud greater control over where their repository data is stored, with the option to hold it only in Microsoft Azure-owned severs within the EU, rather than in other countries where data protections may be less robust.
Firms will be able to control the “data residency” of software code stored on GitHub — effectively meaning they can decide which regions the data is kept in.
GitHub said enterprise users will be given the ability to manage and control user accounts and choose unique namespaces specific to their company that are separate from their open-source experience.
Business users will also be given enhanced business continuity support and disaster recovery, which could help in the event of any cyber breaches or outages affecting physical server equipment.
GitHub Enterprise Cloud is a paid product the firm only offers to businesses. Companies using its enterprise-focused tools tend to store closed-source — rather than open-source — software projects on the platform.
GitHub is primarily known as a destination for individual coders and teams to create and store open-source code. However, the firm has been increasingly pushing a business-to-business sales model, especially after its takeover by Microsoft in 2018.
For businesses storing closed-source projects, the ability to control where that sensitive programming is stored and controlled, as well as the level of access granted to users, is paramount — especially in the EU, according to GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke.
“Europe is the place where cutting-edge regulation and laws around privacy and data protection and many other things, like AI, were born,” Dohmke told CNBC on a video call. “Here there are exciting frameworks to transfer data back and forth around the world.”
“Data residency emerged as an important driver for any enterprise’s cloud strategy, and enterprises want to know where crucial assets like data is being stored,” he added.
Shelley McKinley, GitHub’s chief legal officer, said that closed-source code is today considered the “crown jewels” of a company’s digital strategy.
“European customers were demanding more from us in this area,” she told CNBC. “The EU has been in the center of this [data residency] movement since the beginning of the cloud days.”
Going forward, GitHub plans to roll out data residency within its GitHub Enterprise Cloud across other regions, including Australia, Asia, and Latin America.
EU push for digital ‘sovereignty’
GitHub’s data residency push ties into a broader political and regulatory theme within the EU around so-called digital “sovereignty.”
The EU is investing billions into what it believes are fundamental and core technologies to boost its tech sovereignty and reduce dependency on the U.S. and China. The region is currently heavily reliant on technologies that come from beyond its borders. Top officials are in the process of trying to change this.
Earlier this month, a long-awaited report from former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called for 800 billion euros of additional investment per year to make the bloc more competitive, citing technology innovation as a key area where improvement is needed.
“Europe must profoundly refocus its collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies. Europe is stuck in a static industrial structure with few new companies rising up to disrupt existing industries or develop new growth engines,” Draghi said in the report.
GitHub’s Dohmke said that Europe is currently lagging behind the U.S. and China when it comes to adoption of cloud computing.
According to figures from data center operator Stackscale, 45% of EU enterprises used cloud computing last year, up about 4 percentage points from 2021 to 2023. But it is particularly low in certain countries.
For example, in France, only 27% of enterprises in the EU use cloud technology, whereas in Nordic countries adoption rates are much higher, with 78% of enterprises using the cloud in Finland.
From a global perspective, though, Dohmke said he is optimistic about the future of tech advancements. In November last year, GitHub launched a new version of its “Copilot” programming assistant, called GitHub Copilot Enterprise, to give developers inside companies a way to more easily generate software code using AI technology.
According to Dohmke, developers using its Copilot assistant have been able to generate code 55% faster than programmers not using the AI software.
In the future, he envisages a world where AI automates an even greater share of the workload involved in writing code.
Developers will start to get “AI-native agents” to fulfil certain tasks in their coding journeys, he said, adding that it’ll also become easier for people who aren’t software programmers to be able to create their own software code thanks to artificial intelligence.
US President Joe Biden, left, and Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, speak on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, bringing at least a temporary halt to the war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people in the last 15 months and touched off broader turmoil across the Middle East.
Aaron Schwartz | Sipa | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Biden administration on Thursday announced an executive order on cybersecurity that imposes new standards for companies selling to the U.S. government and calls for greater disclosure from software providers.
The White House is looking to put in place new rules “to strengthen America’s digital foundations,” Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cybersecurity and emerging technology, said in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.
Cyberattacks have caused an increasing number of disruptions inside federal agencies and companies in recent years.
Attackers have pulled off ransomware attacks at Change Healthcare, the operator of the Colonial Pipeline and the Ascension health care system. And Microsoft said in 2023 that Chinese attackers had broken into U.S. government officials’ email accounts, prompting a critical federal report and a series of changes at the software maker.
Companies selling software to the U.S. government will have to demonstrate that their development practices are secure, according to a statement. There will be “evidence that we post on a government website for all software users to benefit from,” Neuberger said.
The General Services Administration will have to make policy that makes cloud providers provide information to clients on how to operate securely.
Companies selling products and services to the U.S. government must adhere to a new set of security practices as a result of the executive order.
Last week the White House announced the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark label to help consumers evaluate internet-connected devices. The executive order states that the U.S. government will only purchase such products if they carry the label, starting in 2027.
The order also directs the National Institute for Standards and Technology to come up with guidance for handling software updates. In late 2020, hackers gained access to Microsoft and U.S. Defense Department systems by targeting updates to SolarWinds‘ Orion software.
It’s not clear if President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration will uphold the executive order. Biden’s cybersecurity officials have not met with those who will take up the work for Trump.
“We haven’t discussed, but we are very happy to, as soon as the incoming cyber team is named, of course, have any discussions during this final transition period,” Neuberger said.
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A soldier walks next to a Tesla Cybertruck, which was donated to the National Guard, after powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area forced people to evacuate, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S. Jan. 13, 2025.
Daniel Cole | Reuters
Tesla started offering discounts on new Cybertruck vehicles in its inventory this week, according to listings on the company’s website.
Discounts are as high as $1,600 off new Cybertrucks, with the reduced price depending on configuration, and up to around $2,600 for demo versions of the trucks in inventory, the listings show. Production of the angular, unpainted steel pickups has reportedly slowed in recent weeks at Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas.
Deliveries of the unconventional pickup began reaching customers in 2023. CEO Elon Musk originally unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019 and said it would cost around $40,000, but its base price in the U.S. was closer to $80,000 over the course of 2024.
Wall Street previously viewed the Cybertruck as an important driver of growth for Tesla’s core automotive sales.
While the Cybertruck outsold the Ford Lightning F-150 last year in the U.S. and became the fifth best-selling EV domestically, according to data tracked by Cox Automotive, its high price, repeat recalls and production issues in Austin hampered growth. In November, Tesla initiated its sixth recall in a year to replace defective drive inverters.
As CNBC previously reported, Tesla’s deliveries declined slightly year-over-year in 2024, even as EV demand worldwide reached a record. A slew of new competitive models from a wide range of automakers eroded Tesla’s market share.
According to Cox data, full-year EV sales reached an estimated 1.3 million in 2024 in the U.S., an increase of 7.3% from the prior year. But Tesla’s sales for the year declined by about 37,000 vehicles.
The Tesla Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan ranked as the top two best-selling EVs by a wide margin. But both older, more affordable Tesla models saw sales drop from the previous year. Cox estimated Tesla sold around 38,965 Cybertrucks in the U.S. last year.
In recent days, Musk apologized to customers in California for delays in delivering their Cybertrucks. He said the trucks are now being used to bring supplies and wireless internet service to people in Los Angeles impacted by devastating wildfires.
“Apologies to those expecting Cybertruck deliveries in California over the next few days,” Musk wrote on X. “We need to use those trucks as mobile base stations to provide power to Starlink Internet terminals in areas of LA without connectivity. A new truck will be delivered end of week.”
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