Securing our cables

While the conflict in Ukraine has at times resembled the grim attrition of the First World War, how to defend against new forms of warfare, especially cyber attacks, is the great conundrum now facing military strategists.

The global reliance on computerised systems and data changes the nature of national vulnerability. It is not only about the risk to territorial integrity but to critical infrastructure that matters.

Much of this is literally out of sight – undersea cables that connect up the world and without which the lives we lead today would be jeopardised. Yet who is protecting these fibre-optic cables and how?

A report from the Policy Exchange think tank makes sobering reading for those charged with overseeing UK defences. It says a seabed warfare strategy every bit as coherent as that on land is necessary to secure these vital lifelines.

The paper notes an increase in Russian activity in the Atlantic with more than 70 suspicious sightings in recent years. China has been developing sophisticated equipment and strategies for conducting underwater warfare and Iranianbacked groups are suspected of seeking to target Middle Eastern cable choke points.

More than 95 per cent of global communications are by way of the fibre-optic cables running along the ocean floors. They carry some £10trillion of financial transactions a day and underpin the operation of every computer in the world.

The report calls for tighter laws governing territorial waters, clarity over cable responsibility and greater central coordination and investment in surveillance equipment. As Rishi Sunak himself observed, as the author of a similar report seven years ago, this threat needs to be taken seriously.