Space would serve as a backup in the face of growing threats to underwater internet cables under a new NATO-funded initiative.
The consortium leading the project, called HEIST for Hybrid Space/Submarine Architecture Ensuring Infosec of Telecommunications, aims to develop a network combining submarine cables and satellite communications to ensure a continual flow of data, according to an August 2024 NATO news release. The $2.5 million project was partially funded by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) program.
Partners in the program include NATO nations, institutions such as Cornell and Johns Hopkins universities in the United States, Bifröst University in Iceland and the Swedish Defence University, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, U.S. satellite companies Viasat and Sierra Space, and Syndis cybersecurity of Iceland. They will address “the urgent need for a more resilient internet infrastructure worldwide,” said Eyup Turmus, SPS advisor and program manager at NATO.
Two key undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea were severed in November 2024, cutting internet linking four NATO countries and prompting a sabotage investigation into a Chinese cargo ship. Two months later, authorities in Norway also seized a Russian-crewed ship suspected of sabotage in damage to a Baltic Sea cable. Acts of damage or sabotage to undersea infrastructure there are on the rise, mostly to cables used for communication and electricity, The New York Times reported.
In addition, Russia’s attack on Viasat’s satellite network during the first hours of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 revealed that “the ability of military and civilian users to communicate is often the first target and casualty of war,” the NATO news release said. “As a solution to foster redundancy and resilience of communication infrastructure, HEIST can immediately service real-world applications.”
Existing cables would be fitted with sensors to detect disruptions, either from sabotage or natural events and accidents, and signals would automatically reroute data via a network of satellites. A combination of satellites and undersea cables has long been used for highly sensitive data, the Business Insider website reported. HEIST would need to focus on the highest-priority data because it would be impossible to transfer everything, Brian Falco, HEIST U.S. director, told the publication.