SYSTEMIC SOVEREIGNTY AND ZERO TRUST UNDER OWNER AUTHORITY An Architectural Proposal for the Control of Changes, Updates, Identities, and Dependencies in Connected Computing Systems

This technical note proposes Systemic Sovereignty as an architectural principle for connected computing systems. It examines the gap between legal ownership and effective technical authority, addressing the governance of software updates, firmware, identities, system changes, and external dependencies. The document introduces the proposed Systemic Sovereignty under Zero Trust (SS-ZT) framework, combining Zero Trust principles with owner-authorized changes, verifiable integrity, dependency governance, and recovery capabilities. It also explores implications for artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure, presenting architectural principles, a reference model, evaluation metrics, a maturity model, and an implementation roadmap. This is a conceptual technical proposal intended to contribute to discussions on cybersecurity, digital ownership, and systemic sovereignty.