- Conservative MP Rishi Sunak wrote a report for Policy Exchange think-tank
- 97% of UK’s global communications transmitted through fibre-optic cables
- Their known locations and poor protection make them ‘uniquely vulnerable’
A ‘uniquely vulnerable’ network of underwater cables leave the UK security and economy at risk of an ‘existential’ attack by terrorists, a report says.
The report, written by Conservative MP Rishi Sunak for Policy Exchange think-tank, said that while 97% of global communications were transmitted through fibre-optic carrying cables they remained ‘uniquely vulnerable’ to sabotage.
Despite their importance, the report said they were often poorly protected, their locations publicly known, with the cables coming ashore at just a few remote ‘landing sites’ in the UK making them a tempting target for terrorists.
A ‘uniquely vulnerable’ network of underwater cables leave the UK security and economy at risk of an ‘existential’ attack by terrorists, a report says (file image)
‘Whether from terrorist activity or an increasingly bellicose Russian naval presence, the threat of these vulnerabilities being exploited is growing,’ the report said.
‘A successful attack would deal a crippling blow to Britain’s security and prosperity. The threat is nothing short of existential.
‘The result would be to damage commerce and disrupt government-to-government communications, potentially leading to economic turmoil and civil disorder.’
At sea, while the greatest threat was from submarine warfare, a successful attack could be carried out by a fishing trawler equipped with deep-sea grappling hooks.
![The report was written by Conservative MP Rishi Sunak for Policy Exchange think-tank](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/04/01/46F4E8B900000578-5142243-The_report_was_written_by_Conservative_MP_Rishi_Sunak_for_Policy-m-37_1512350406598.jpg)
The report was written by Conservative MP Rishi Sunak for Policy Exchange think-tank
The report highlighted the way that during the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Russians ‘easily’ cut all digital communications from the peninsula.
It said that the Government’s next Strategic Defence and Security Review should specifically address threats to Britain’s security from attacks on the undersea cable infrastructure.
A Government spokesman said that any threat to Britain’s infrastructure was taken ‘extremely seriously’.
‘We are continuously working with industry to ensure our sub-sea cable network is secure and have a variety of tools to monitor potentially-hostile maritime activity,’ the spokesman said.