EU wants to make undersea internet cables more resilient
- Reference: 1708609220
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/02/22/eu_wants_to_make_undersea/
- Source link:
Released alongside a [1]white paper analyzing Europe's digital infrastructure requirements, the [2]recommendations encourage member states to undertake tasks including regular stress testing and sharing information.
There are no detailed procedures to follow, and the strategy calls for EU members to pay more attention to submarine infrastructure and perhaps help fund important projects.
[3]
The Commission notes that European economies and societies are increasingly reliant on the internet and international connectivity, and that submarine cable infrastructure is a significant element in this, as the vast majority of international data traffic is carried through these cables.
[4]
[5]
It also notes the infrastructure is vulnerable to sabotage and tampering, and says that Russia’s war against Ukraine has raised awareness of security, given its potential capability to disrupt cables and the suspicious monitoring activities carried out by Russian vessels, such as off the Irish coast.
The UK is not in the EU, but in 2022, a subsea cable connecting Shetland and the Faroe Islands was damaged, with a separate cable linking the two with the Scottish mainland being cut. Suspicion fell on a [6]Russian research vessel in the area.
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At a top level, the recommendations identify actions EU member states should take, also including any necessary improvements to the security of seabed cables, and to support the deployment or significant upgrade of submarine cable infrastructure serving the region.
On the security side, the Commission wants EU members to ensure the infrastructure is adequately managed and controlled so as to protect it from external threats, including that of data carried on the cables by collecting any necessary information from the owners or operators.
Individual states should conduct risk assessments on the cybersecurity and the physical security of submarine cables, and enforce obligations on suppliers and operators to ensure security.
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The Commission wants to see the fast-tracking of applications relating to submarine cable infrastructure, for construction, operation, maintenance or repair work, and advises member states to “grant to submarine cable infrastructures the status of the highest possible national significance.”
To build out capacity, the Commission is seeking to compile a draft list of strategic projects - Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs). These may be considered for support through EU programs and complemented with national funds to fill strategic gaps and establish new connections, it says.
[9]Google to lay Asia-Pacific to South America undersea cable
[10]China's first undersea datacenter sinks – as planned
[11]US offshore oil and gas installation at 'increasing' risk of cyberattack
[12]UK cuts China from Sizewell nuclear project, takes joint stake
When it comes to financing, the Commission reckons that CPEIs should be funded by private finance, which may be supported where necessary and appropriate by EU programs.
However, it also says that member states are encouraged to consider contributing, where necessary and appropriate, to the financing of CPEIs, in accordance with state aid rules.
What's really up with data disconnects in the deep blue sea? [13]READ MORE
The recommendations were welcomed by one company involved in the submarine cable industry, EXA Infrastructure.
Chief operating officer Ciaran Delaney said: “Submarine cables are like the internet’s main arteries, carrying data around the world, so it’s only natural that the EU Commission is looking at ways to secure these vital pieces of infrastructure.”
On the recommendations relating to EU member states supporting cable infrastructure, Delaney said: “Private investment is flowing into the subsea industry all the time to create more diverse paths from A to B and provide resiliency should a specific cable be damaged, but any legislative support to make upgrading and securing network infrastructure easier is welcomed.” ®
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[1] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/white-paper-how-master-europes-digital-infrastructure-needs
[2] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/recommendation-security-and-resilience-submarine-cable-infrastructures
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zdd9uEHegN1th4caYXbN5AAAAVI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zdd9uEHegN1th4caYXbN5AAAAVI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zdd9uEHegN1th4caYXbN5AAAAVI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://techblog.comsoc.org/2022/11/05/was-russia-or-a-fishing-trawler-responsible-for-shetland-island-cable-cut/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zdd9uEHegN1th4caYXbN5AAAAVI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zdd9uEHegN1th4caYXbN5AAAAVI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/12/first_asiapacific_to_south_america/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/03/asia_tech_news_roundup/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/21/us_oil_gas_cyber_threats/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/uk_energy_storage/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/27/opinion_subsea_cable/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: A good big fix change.
Good idea. To bad that some dont want to be friends...
Re: A good big fix change.
At least two of the current wars are the result of one person/country deciding they want something currently occupied by another country and deciding to do a bit of dick-waving with their armed forces. Many of the rest are because one set of people in a country don't like what the other set of people have done or are doing to them.
Neither of these are particularly easy to resolve peacefully. Putin wasn't going to let anyone say "No" to him in Ukraine and Israel and Palestine have been fighting for 80 years now over owning the same bits of land.
Good intentions, but ...
Neither of the Commission documents makes any even high level suggestions about how to actually make undersea cables more resilient. They're essentially administrative and address only the intent. Other than to stress the need for mapping of cables and a generic requirement for testing and repair, they say nothing concrete about resilience. IMHO, repair capability is not the key to resilience. It's ideally the ability to ward off attack without detriment rather than merely an ability to recover after a successful attack. But of course that's all down to definitions, and the Commission is not a technology body but a political one.
Consequently, particularly bearing in mind that undersea cables are laid and maintained by corporates, not national bodies, it's probable that these proposals will drive little material change.
Re: Good intentions, but ...
Yes after reading "At a top level, the recommendations identify actions EU member states should take, also including any necessary improvements to the security of seabed cables" I wondered what the recommendations were but don't see anything mentioned and struggle to think of any realistic physical protection that can be done. Maybe they are keeping that secret but I doubt it. Disaster planning and redundancy are I think the only options.
Re: Good intentions, but ...
On the security side, the Commission wants EU members to ensure the infrastructure is adequately managed and controlled so as to protect it from external threats, including that of data carried on the cables by collecting any necessary information from the owners or operators.
I'm very dubious about that part. Most of the stuff in the 'suggestions' is already done. So you can't just land a cable without already going through licensing and planning requirements. Cable routes have to be accurately marked on marine charts because if they're not, owners can be liable for damage. Because they are, it increases vulnerability. Only real fix for that is if governments increase surveillace and patroling, but that's expensive and if the costs are passed on to cable operators will only increase costs.
I'm not convinced the EU needs to know anything about the data on cables though and that may just make it less secure if that leaks. That kind of thing is best left to customers to ensure they have adequate diversity, seperation or just understand what protected and unprotected really means. Especially with the wet stuff when restoring a cable might take days or weeks depending on things like weather, availability & proximity of cable ships etc etc.
But that's also an area where the EU might be able to chip in. Once upon a time, the owner/operators of those ships were facing financial problems as they were fairly reliant on income from cable operators. Who kept going bust because customers demanded ever falling bandwidth prices, decreasing O&M revenues etc. Then came the drive for power interconnectors, offshore wind farms and demand increased. But the number of cable laying and maintenance vessels probably hasn't kept up. So they may be working on an offshore wind job when a fibre cable gets cut and increases the time to restore.
Union of Clueless and Weak
They can only express the problem, but no word about the solution. Typical of the EU drones.
The ugly truth about seaborne infrastructure is that it is hard to protect at large scale.
What can be done is to threaten retribution to any offender. "If you blow up my stuff, I will blow up some of your assets".
For that you need COJONES, something the EU is short of since 1945.
Actually, you can play Divide Et Impera with the EU nations and Britain.
Ankara, Moscow and others know this very well.
Re: Union of Clueless and Weak
>For that you need COJONES, something the EU is short of since 1945.
Again that's Britain's fault.
Everytime somebody in Europe with COJONES tries to unify the place Britain, goes and invades them and spoils it.
Prepare For Worst Case
Data stored in U.S. data centers might not be accessible for a bunch of weeks, if the security situation deteriorates for European companies.
A single submarine can do lots of damage in the Atlantic, before she is detected and neutralized.
It takes a few weeks to repair all damage.
Store all mission-critical data in data centers with landline connections to your company. Do not make your core business dependent on U.S. service providers who can only provide the service from U.S. data centers.
Satcom
Another option is to plan for accessing U.S. data centers and services via much more narrowband satellite services such as StarLink or Intelsat.
Try out your plan too see whether it really works as intended !
A good big fix change.
Worldwide "economies and societies are increasingly reliant on the internet and international connectivity"
So the problems can only be reasonably fixed if worldwide we start to all become friends, not idiots and as humans we need to completely stop fighting wars and creating the situations. Wars are a result of human two examples of stupidity, creating the situation and then trying to solve the situation by killing so many people.
The current world situation looks a lot like us at home saying "let's have 5 pet dogs" and then ... "look they all crapped on the sofa" - a problem that can be solved by investing in the time to take them for a walk or letting them play in the back yard. A change of the environment that make all sides happy and solves the problems and reactions on both sides.