Written By: Rodrigo Andrade Santos
Supervised By: Elise Alsteens & Jennifer Kalushi
Edited By: Jackson Elder
ABSTRACT
Building on this series’ first part on emerging capabilities in undersea warfare, this paper explores how submarine data cables, as critical infrastructure, are affected by developments such as unmanned vehicles, big-data analytics, and advanced computing. It highlights how new technologies that may enhance the protection and resilience of the cable network may simultaneously enable sabotage and grey-zone operations that would undermine it. This piece examines these emerging technologies in relation to relevant known projects and exposes the inevitable role of private companies in the governance of this critical, civil-oriented infrastructure.
