Analysts Urge U.S. to Strengthen Undersea Cable Protections
Summary
Analysts urge the U.S. to modernize undersea-cable protections, citing a U.K. white paper proposing emergency powers for ministers, operator duties and sabotage offenses carrying up to 14 years in prison.
Key points
- A U.K. white paper proposes allowing ministers to direct cable operators during national-security incidents, including on routing, capacity sharing and repair priorities.
- The proposals include up to 14 years in prison for intentional sabotage, 10 years for reckless conduct and two years for gross negligence.
- The U.S. Submarine Cable Act of 1888 sets a maximum two-year prison term for willfully breaking or injuring a cable.
- Pending U.S. bills address sanctions, interagency coordination, cable strategy and security requirements for cable landing licenses.
- Analysts say stronger laws could deter insiders but may not deter state actors; they also raise concerns about oversight of secret orders and whether operators would have resources to carry them out.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Proposed legislation and regulatory powers to protect undersea cables
- Impact
- The U.K. government published a white paper proposing emergency powers to direct cable operators during national security incidents and new sabotage offenses carrying penalties of up to 14 years in prison. The proposals could also require operators to share information, reroute or isolate traffic, prioritize repairs, preserve evidence, and provide access to cable landing stations. U.S. analysts urged lawmakers to consider stronger protections; the article describes pending U.S. bills but does not report that either country has enacted the measures discussed.
People
Andrew GrottoCo-director of Stanford University's Program on Geopolitics, Technology and Governance and former White House senior director for cybersecurity policy; discussed the limits of criminal penalties as a deterrent.August PflugerU.S. representative who introduced a bill with Rob Menendez on cable licensing and national security requirements.Aybars TuncdoganAssociate professor of digital innovation and information security at King's College London; advocated revising U.S. submarine cable law.Dan JarvisU.K. Security Minister; said the country was toughening the law to stay ahead of those seeking to do harm.Dwayne WinseckCarleton University professor who studies internet and telecom regulation; commented on oversight of proposed government powers.Ian MurrayU.K. Telecoms Minister; described undersea cables as the hidden backbone of modern Britain.Rob MenendezU.S. representative who introduced a bill to standardize licensing and set national security requirements for cables landing in the United States.Savvas ChristodoulouResearcher in the Department of War Studies at King's College London; commented on the proposed U.K. powers and possible U.S. legislation.
Countries
Chinaan interagency committee and federal cable strategy (see: Congress Moves to Defend Undersea Cables From China, Russia).RussiaThe proposals come as British officials accuse Russia of surveying undersea cables around the U.K. and years of Russian hybrid warfare in Europe that has included a slew of suspicious broken cable incidents in theUnited KingdomStates to follow the London's lead in overhauling its 19th-century undersea cable law after the United Kingdom government proposed emergency powers over cable operators and prison terms of up to 14 years forUnited StatesSecurity analysts are calling on the United States to follow the London's lead in overhauling its 19th-century undersea cable law after the United Kingdom government proposed emergency powers over cable operators and