The Rise of Cloudflare and the Need for European Cybersecurity Alternatives

By /

Listen to this Post

Featured Image
Cloudflare has become a dominant force in web security, providing protection against cyberattacks, DDoS mitigation, and bot management. However, its widespread adoption raises concerns about digital sovereignty, particularly in Europe, where reliance on US-based services like Cloudflare exposes user data to foreign jurisdictions like the Cloud Act and FISA 702.

You Should Know: How Cloudflare Works and European Alternatives

1. How Cloudflare Captures Data

Cloudflare processes:

  • IP addresses
  • Traffic routing data
  • System configuration details
  • User interactions with websites

This data is used for security but also falls under US surveillance laws.

2. European Alternatives to Cloudflare

Several European solutions offer similar capabilities while ensuring GDPR compliance:

A. OGO SECURITY (France)

  • Offers WAF/WAAP, Anti-DDoS, Bot Mitigation, and CDN
  • Available as SaaS, on-premise, or sovereign cloud
  • Fully compliant with RGPD

B. Baleen (France, by CDiscount)

  • Open-source Web Application Firewall (WAF)
  • Originally developed for internal use, now publicly available

C. Orange Live Identity Captcha

  • A sovereign CAPTCHA solution
  • Detects suspicious activities without relying on US providers

D. Other Sovereign CDN/WAF Providers

  • Scaleway (France) – European cloud & CDN
  • Gcore (Luxembourg) – Anti-DDoS & edge network

3. Testing Cloudflare vs. European Solutions

To check if a site uses Cloudflare:

curl -I https://example.com | grep -i "server: cloudflare"

For European alternatives, inspect headers for:

curl -I https://example.com | grep -i "server: orange"
  1. Blocking Cloudflare at the Network Level (For Privacy-Conscious Admins)

If you want to restrict Cloudflare traffic:

iptables -A INPUT -s 103.21.244.0/22 -j DROP 
iptables -A INPUT -s 104.16.0.0/12 -j DROP

(Cloudflare IP ranges can be found here)

5. Self-Hosted Bot Protection

Use Fail2Ban to block malicious bots:

sudo apt install fail2ban 
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban

Configure in `/etc/fail2ban/jail.local`:

[nginx-botsearch] 
enabled = true 
port = http,https 
filter = nginx-botsearch 
logpath = /var/log/nginx/access.log 
maxretry = 3 
bantime = 86400

What Undercode Say

The dominance of Cloudflare highlights Europe’s lag in digital sovereignty. While US-based services offer reliability, they come with legal risks. European alternatives like OGO SECURITY, Baleen, and Orange Live Identity provide viable options, but adoption depends on policy changes like a “Buy European Tech Act” to incentivize local solutions.

For now, organizations should:

  • Audit dependencies on US-based services
  • Test European alternatives
  • Implement hybrid security (self-hosted WAF + sovereign CDN)

Prediction

As US tech regulations tighten, Europe will push harder for homegrown cybersecurity solutions. Expect more EU-funded startups in WAF, CDN, and bot mitigation within the next 3-5 years.

Expected Output:

  • The Rise of Cloudflare and the Need for European Cybersecurity Alternatives
  • Key Solutions: OGO SECURITY, Baleen, Orange Live Identity
  • Commands: curl, iptables, `Fail2Ban`
  • Policy Suggestion: “Buy European Tech Act”
  • Prediction: Growth in EU-based cybersecurity startups

IT/Security Reporter URL:

Reported By: Guillaume Champeau – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

Join Our Cyber World:

💬 Whatsapp | 💬 Telegram

Related Posts: