Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, Rima Alaily, has penned a blog post alleging that a newly formed group of cloud providers is a front for Google, designed solely in order to discredit Microsoft.

Alaily claimed in his post that Google has tried to conceal the extent of its involvement in the funding, organisation, and control of the new Open Cloud Coalition by recruiting smaller European cloud providers that serve as the public face of the group.

Launched today, the OCC is backed by ten founding members, including global players such as Centerprise International, Civo, and Gigas, and headed up by Nicky Stewart, formerly with the Cabinet Office. According to the Coalition, its aim is to advocate for increased openness, interoperability, and competitiveness throughout the entire cloud industry.

That public mission is at odds with Microsoft’s assertion that the group is an ‘astroturfed’ (meaning fake grass roots) lobbying organisation for Google, claiming that one unnamed firm initially approached to be a part of the Coalition said the purpose of the enterprise was to attack Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom.  

This latest accusation comes on the back of Google Cloud’s complaint to the European Commission last month that Microsoft places a huge financial burden on businesses that want to use cloud platforms other than its own Azure, claiming that these anti-competitive tactics are costing businesses ‘at least’ €1 billion (£833 million) a year.

In a sign of a rapidly escalating Cold War between the tech giants, Alaily also claimed that Europe isn’t the only region where Google is using these tactics against Microsoft. 

According to Alaily’s post, the U.S.-based Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, which has attacked Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the US, UK, and EU, counts Google as its main organiser and funder, though its affiliation isn’t publicly disclosed.

Microsoft’s lawyer wrote that Google’s ‘shadow campaign’, as well as the overt efforts they’ve made in criticising Microsoft, are being used to distract from the latter’s own antitrust problems, with Google facing numerous investigations around the world into its practices.

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That’s why, according to Alaily, Google has also attacked Microsoft on topics ranging from cybersecurity to its business in China, as well as pitching negative stories to the media, and undermining government hearings by planting questions ahead of time.

“Google’s work on this range of topics underscores the fact that it is less concerned about Microsoft’s conduct in the cloud market than it is with discrediting a competitor wherever it can get a foothold.It is disappointing that, with the foundation of their business facing jeopardy, they have sought to bolster their cloud computing service – Google Cloud Platform – by attacking ours,” wrote Alaily.

Although neither the OCC or Google itself have yet responded to the allegations, it’s clear that the divide between Microsoft and one of its biggest competitors is growing. With governments worldwide bolstering regulations to tackle the growing power of these big tech firms, such salvos of war might prove self-destructive on both sides.