The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

Briefing NEWS 13

19 February 2022 THEWEEK

Whatdowerelyonthecablesfor?
The“backbone”of theinternet, the data
superhighwaythatconnects theworld’s
online computer networks,isawebof
fibre-opticcables. Between continents
andlandmasses, the internetrelieson
cablescrossingtheseafloor.This
network, which isoverhalf amillion
milesinlength,andcomprisedofover
200 independent systemsofinter-
connectedcables,carriesover 95%
of globalcommunications(the restis
carriedbysatellite).Ifyouopenaforeign
webpage,thedatayou’reaccessingwill
have been propelled bylasersdown fibre-
opticthreadsunderthesea,at almost
thespeedoflight.Inasingle day,this
networkalso processes some$10trnin
financialtransfersviathe SWIFTsystem,
whichmanages global banktransactions.
Therecent explosive growthofcloud computing has vastly
increased the volumeandsensitivity ofdata –frommilitary
documents toscientificresearch–crossingthese cables.

Howdothecableswork?
Underseacableshavebeenusedsincethe1850s(seebox).Today,
they’veevolved into technologicalmarvels.Laidby slow-moving
ships,they aretypicallybetweentwoand seveninches thickand
have alifespan ofapproximately 25years.Eachcable contains
fibrethreadscapable oftransmitting data at180,000miles per
second, wrappedin steel armour,insulationandaplastic coat.
Thesefibreshave thecapacitytotransmit upto 400 GB ofdata
persecond(aboutenough for 375 million phone calls); asingle
underseacablecontains anywhereupto 200 suchfibres.By way
of context,eightfibre-optic strands could transfertheentire
contentsof theBodleianLibraryacrosstheAtlanticin about 40
minutes.Somenewcables,suchasthe Asia-America Gateway
cable,whichlinksCaliforniatothe Philippinesand Southeast
Asia,stretchtomorethan 10, 000 milesinlength.

Whyaretheyasubjectofconcern?
Becauseof theirvulnerability.To take anextremerecent example:
in January,avolcaniceruptionseveredthesingle cableto Tonga,
cutting offallcommunicationstothe
Pacificisland for fivedays.Phone
contacthas nowbeen restored,via
satellite,butnormalinternetservice
hasstill not been reinstated.Damage
occurs fairlyregularly: an estimated
100 to 150 cablesare severedevery
year,thevast majority duetofishing
equipment or anchors. Usually,the
system hasenough slack in it to deal
with such damage: most nations are
connectedbyscoresoffibre-optic
cables, so if one or twoare damaged,
data canbererouted without
disruption. Butproblems do occur. In
2008,three cableslinking Italy and
Egyptwereaccidentally cut, causing
data connectivitybetweenEurope
andthe Middle Easttoplummet,
with knock-on effects forAmerican
military operationsinIraq.

HowcouldthisaffecttheUK?
Britain, unlike Tonga,isconnectedto
the rest of theworld by around 60

cables,notjustone:fromthe80-mile

CeltixConnectcable toIreland; tothe

Tangerine,whichruns 8 1 milesfrom

Kentto Belgium;tothe Tata TGN-

Atlantic,stretching8,000milesfrom

SomersettoNewJersey.Yetthe UKis

far morereliantthanTongaon digital

services.“Evenmoresignificantly,unlike

Tonga, wehavepowerfulenemies,”said

Harryde Quetteville inTheDaily

Telegraph.Sabotaged cables couldpose

“anexistentialthreat” toBritishsecurity,

warned thenow-ChancellorRishiSunak

in a 2017 reportforthePolicyExchange

thinktank. “The mostsevere scenario...

of connectivity lossispotentially

catastrophic,”headded –andeven

relativelylimiteddamagecould“cause

significanteconomicdisruption and

damagemilitarycommunications.”

Howmighttheybesabotaged?

“Disruptingcables isnotonlypossible,”wroteSunak, it’s

“surprisinglyeasy.”There isalonghistoryofcountries hostileto

one another sabotagingcables. BritaincutfiveGermancablesin

theFirst WorldWar;intheColdWar,the USplacedwiretapson

Soviet subseacables. WhenRussiaannexedCrimeain2014,one

of its firstmoveswastoseveritscableconnection. Thecables

aregenerallyownedandinstalledbyconsortiaof internetand

telecomscompanies, withoutmuch government oversight.Their

locationsareusuallybothisolatedand publiclyknown,making

themvulnerable tosabotage.There arealsoseveral“choke

points” potentiallyvulnerabletoattack, suchas Wall Township,

asmalltowninNew Jerseywherefivemajorcablescomeashore.

Haveanycablesbeenthreatened?

Just last month,the headof the UK’sArmedForces,AdmiralTony

Radakin, warnedthatRussiansubmarine activityisthreatening

underwatercablesandthatthe Kremlin has“grownthe

capability”toexploitthem.Russia,throughits MainDirectorate

of Undersea Research, probescables usingvesselssuchasthe

research ship Yantar,equippedwithsubmarinesandundersea

dronesthoughtto becapable ofcuttingortappingcables.Last

summer,it was trackedin aposition

around transatlanticcables offthe

coastofIreland;amonth later,it

wasin theEnglishChannel.

Whatcanbedoneaboutthis?

Anumber of concrete proposals have

been putforward.One option is to

establish “cable protection zones”,

which wouldban certaintypes of

anchoring and fishing, and require

greater disclosureby vessels inside

them.Other solutions include

updating international law around

cables, andestablishing treaties

that wouldcriminalise foreign

interference. Nato has held exercises

to hone potential responses to an

attackoninfrastructure. So-called

“darkcables” –orbackup systems

–could also be built to increase

resilience in the global network.But

it’s clear that muchmoreneedstobe

doneto protectacriticalpartofthe

infrastructure of modern life.

The cables that connect the world

Theglobalnetworkofunderseacommunicationscablesisatechnologicalmarvel–butit’salsoveryvulnerable

Anestimated 150 cablesareseveredeveryyear

Thefirsttransatlanticcable

Thefirstsubmarinecablesdatebackto themid

19thcentury.In 1840,SamuelMorse,theinventor

of Morsecode,threwhisweightbehindthemand,

by1850,alinkhadbeenlaidfromBritainto France.

Sevenyearslater,afirstattempt at atransatlantic

cablefailedwhenthelinkbroke;buttheteam

behindit wereundauntedand,ayearlater,tried

again.In July1858,twoships–HMSAgamemnon

andtheUSSNiagara–met in themiddleof the

Atlantic,attachedtheirrespectivecablesto each

other,andheadedin oppositedirections.Niagara

dockedin Newfoundlandon4August,and

Agamemnonarrivedonthewestcoastof Ireland

thenextday.Elevendayslater,QueenVictoriasent

USPresidentJamesBuchananthefirsttransatlantic

telegram.Taking 17 hoursand 40 minutesto reach

its destination,it wasthefastestmessageeverto be

sentbetweenWashingtonandLondonandwas

metwithareply fromBuchananexpressinghope

thatthelinkwouldprove“abondof perpetual

peaceandfriendshipbetweenthekindrednations”.

Alas,thetriumphwasshort-lived:thecablefaileda

fewweekslater.Areliabletransatlanticlinkwas

finallyestablishedin 1866.