Amazon, Google, Microsoft Named As Essential Providers In Sweeping Financial Sector Move: EU Watchdogs Gain Oversight

Author: Ananya Gairola | November 18, 2025 10:54pm

On Tuesday, the European Union officially placed several major technology firms under heightened scrutiny as regulators move to safeguard the bloc's financial system from growing cyber and operational risks.

EU Designates 19 Tech Firms As ‘Critical' Under DORA

EU regulators named 19 technology companies — including Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services, Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Cloud and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) — as "critical" third-party service providers under the Digital Operational Resilience Act, or DORA, reported Reuters.

The designation gives EU-level financial watchdogs the authority to directly supervise these firms.

EU regulators warned that a service outage at a heavily relied-upon provider could significantly impact the financial sector, prompting the need for stricter oversight.

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Regulators Focus On Cyber Risk And Governance

The European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority will now evaluate whether the companies maintain robust cybersecurity, risk management and governance frameworks, the report said.

A spokesperson for the London Stock Exchange Group said the organization welcomes the designation, while Google Cloud echoed similar sentiments, noting its support for regulatory clarity.

Microsoft said it remains committed to meeting Europe's cybersecurity and resilience standards. AWS added that it had prepared for its new role and will continue to work closely with regulators, the report added.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) said it is continually strengthening its defenses and looks forward to engaging with EU authorities.

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