{"id":44682,"date":"2020-07-01T20:11:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T20:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/01\/protecting-undersea-cables-must-be-made-a-national-security-priority\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:40:24","slug":"protecting-undersea-cables-must-be-made-a-national-security-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/07\/01\/protecting-undersea-cables-must-be-made-a-national-security-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting undersea cables must be made a national security priority"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Data is arguably the most important strategic asset to emerge in the 21st century. Access to data and the ability to protect its integrity are vital to American security and prosperity. As 5G and artificial intelligence transform our societies into highly integrated networks, protecting data will become even more crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, American efforts have focused on preventing Huawei, the party-controlled Chinese telecommunications giant, from gaining ground as the world\u2019s largest supplier of 5G infrastructure. But defending a less understood part of our digital infrastructure \u2014 undersea fiber-optic cables \u2014 should be an equal priority. Without the approximately 750,000 miles of cables that crisscross the world\u2019s oceans, our interconnected, digitally driven societies would be unable to function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1858, when the first submarine cable was installed, sending a message across the Atlantic took nearly 18 hours<\/a>. Today, the fastest undersea cables can transfer data at speeds upward of 25 terabytes per second \u2014 more than twice the amount of data generated by the Hubble Space Telescope each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undersea cables make instant communications possible, transporting some 95 percent of the data and voice traffic that crosses international boundaries. They also form the backbone of the global economy \u2014 roughly $10 trillion in financial transactions are transmitted via these cables each day. And undersea infrastructure is not just for civilian use. The U.S. government relies on cables to transmit information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, America\u2019s competitors consider undersea cables strategically significant. Tapping undersea cables could provide foreign leaders with valuable intelligence, while severing cables could slow communications<\/a> between the U.S. and its NATO allies significantly \u2014 perhaps by even months.<\/p>\n\n\n\t