2024-09-27 20:08:23
The North Atlantic Alliance is developing a system whose goal is to secure the communication and especially the Internet infrastructure in the event of an attack or destruction. The prototype is expected to cost two and a half million dollars (about 58 million crowns). NATO promises to strengthen security at a time of rising international tensions since the project it announced in July.
Submarine cables are a key part of the communications infrastructure. They provide approximately 95 percent of the world’s data flow. Their destruction would thus paralyze NATO’s communication capabilities, which could be used, for example, by Russia for a possible attack. The Alliance thus plans to move at least part of this infrastructure into space.
The goal of the project is to create a functional prototype within two years, which, after a successful test, would combine existing submarine cables with satellite technologies to enable a continuous flow of information.
Daniel Koštoval, a security analyst from the Center for Transatlantic Relations at CEVRO University, describes the announcement of NATO’s intention as a milestone by which the alliance shows that it considers it critical to start such projects already. Russian aggression contributed to the acceleration of technological development.
Although it is very difficult to cut the cables, the Yemeni Houthi rebels managed to do it this year. They cut three such cables in the Red Sea. “Just finding the cables is difficult and then being able to cut or disrupt them. It turns out that the Houthis apparently had this ability with the help of Iran, at least temporarily,” Koštoval told Aktuálně.cz.
According to him, the interruption of communication cables would have an absolutely fundamental effect on economic functioning, the functionality of the stock exchange or payment operations would be at risk, on the contrary, it would not affect the armed forces so much, according to him. “Armies have their own alternative methods. It should not jeopardize the functionality of the deployment of the armed forces or military operations,” he believes.
However, he believes that even in space the Internet will be vulnerable. “The militarization of space is currently underway, when Russia, China and other states are working to be able to destroy enemy satellites in various ways, and communication satellites would be a clear target,” he points out.
According to Koštoval, the vulnerability of submarine cables is also reminiscent of the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea the year before last September.
The protection of the submarine infrastructure was not underestimated by the Allies even during the Cold War and they are constantly improving it. “Already back then, there were various underwater systems that indicated movement in sensitive places, and the cables themselves can be newly equipped with sensors with detection capabilities,” says Koštoval.
He describes that after the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine and given the power ambitions declared by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, the West is resorting to much greater monitoring of where and under which flag which vessels are moving. “It’s basically a daily routine,” he says.
From the project, which will be partially financed by the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) program, the North Atlantic Alliance promises to deepen cooperation between scientific and educational institutions in NATO countries and its partners. These include two American universities – Cornell University and Johns Hopkins University, as well as Iceland’s Bifröst, the Swedish Defense University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. NATO also plans to involve telecommunication companies from the countries of the alliance.
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