The United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, and other nations have issued a joint statement on the security and resilience of undersea cables. This statement was made during the 79th annual United Nations General Assembly.
"Communications networks underpin almost every aspect of our lives," the statement begins. It highlights that while these technologies are essential, they also introduce vulnerabilities due to their rapid development and massive scale.
Undersea cables play a crucial role in global communication by offering unparalleled capacity, low latency, and reliability. The demand for these cables has surged as seamless connectivity becomes vital for commerce and digital growth across various sectors. The expansion of undersea cable networks is seen as foundational to a more interconnected global community. Consequently, states are encouraged to adopt policies ensuring efficient, robust, redundant, resilient, and secure infrastructure for data flows.
The statement notes that reliance on undersea cables presents significant risks related to public interests and national security. "Protecting the security, resilience, and integrity of undersea cables is critical to global communications," it says. Managing these risks involves addressing high-risk suppliers of cable equipment and promoting best practices for laying and maintaining secure infrastructure.
The scope of undersea cable infrastructure includes not just the cables but also elements related to their construction, operation, surveillance, maintenance, repair centers, landing stations, software connections to terrestrial parts of the system, and fleets responsible for deployment and maintenance.
The endorsers outline several principles aimed at ensuring security and resilience in undersea cable deployment:
- Designing infrastructure with resilience in mind.
- Promoting cooperation between endorsers to select secure subsea cable providers.
- Enhancing government-industry coordination for responsible deployment.
- Emphasizing spatial planning to protect cables from hazards.
- Sharing best practices for permitting international cable systems.
- Encouraging transparent ownership among service providers.
- Conducting regular security risk assessments throughout the cable lifecycle.
- Promoting data risk mitigation frameworks.
- Complying with applicable international laws like UNCLOS.
By endorsing these principles, the participating nations hope others will follow suit within their governance systems. This collaborative action aims to preserve the reliability and security of infrastructure supporting global communications.
For further information regarding this joint statement or any related inquiries contact CDP-Press@state.gov.
