A bipartisan coalition of eight U.S. senators has urged President Joe Biden to initiate a review of the security vulnerabilities associated with the global network of undersea communications cables, which facilitate nearly all international internet traffic.
In a letter led by Republican Senator Todd Young and Democrat Senator Chris Murphy, the lawmakers emphasized the importance of assessing potential threats to this critical infrastructure, particularly concerning sabotage by Russia and the increasing involvement of the People’s Republic of China in the laying and repair of undersea cables. The senators noted that while the locations of these cables are publicly accessible to prevent accidental damage, their security remains a pressing concern.
“The United States must undertake a review of existing vulnerabilities to global undersea cable infrastructure,” the letter stated. With over 400 subsea cables forming the backbone of the internet and carrying more than 95% of the world’s data traffic, ensuring their security is deemed a national priority.
Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks highlighted in 2020 the need to prevent adversarial nations and hostile actors from tampering with, blocking, or intercepting communications traversing these cables.
The group of senators, which includes Marco Rubio, Brian Schatz, Tim Kaine, and Dan Sullivan, posed several critical questions in their letter. They inquired about the Biden administration’s overall strategy to secure the U.S. undersea infrastructure and promote the safety of that belonging to allies and partners. Additionally, they sought clarification on the optimal size of the U.S.-flagged and -operated cable-laying and repair vessel fleet needed to ensure adequate cable repair capacity. They also asked how the administration plans to encourage other nations to select trusted undersea cable manufacturers.
According to a Reuters report, the U.S. State Department and its partners have been active in preventing China from securing new subsea contracts in strategically important regions. Furthermore, U.S. agencies have prohibited any cable from establishing direct links between U.S. territory and mainland China or Hong Kong due to espionage concerns.
Since 2020, U.S. regulators have successfully canceled four proposed cables intended to connect the United States with Hong Kong. In April, the FCC mandated that U.S. units of China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile cease broadband internet operations within the U.S. In June, the FCC also advanced a proposal aimed at enhancing the security of internet transmissions following allegations that a Chinese carrier misrouted internet traffic.
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