- Tougher penalties – including lengthy prison sentences and unlimited fines – proposed for those who intentionally, recklessly or negligently damage the undersea cables and pipelines carrying UK’s gas, electricity and international data
- New security and resilience laws would require subsea telecoms cable providers to better identify and manage risks to vital infrastructure
- White Paper published today sets out powers that would allow government to act where national security is at risk, including amid suspicious Russian activity around critical undersea infrastructure.
The UK’s undersea cables and pipelines will be better protected from hostile threats under plans unveiled today to introduce tougher prison sentences and unlimited fines on ship owners that damage critical national infrastructure.
The fibre-optic cables running along the seabed connect the UK to the rest of the world, carrying around 99% of our international data and underpinning everything from messages and video calls to online banking and shopping.
The UK’s energy supply is highly dependent on undersea infrastructure, with undersea pipelines providing 74% of the UK’s gas supply and undersea electricity cables providing vital supply from Europe and the UK’s growing offshore wind sector.
But growing threats to critical undersea infrastructure, including suspicious Russian activity in UK waters, mean the laws protecting these vital connections need to keep pace with a changing security environment.
A White Paper published today sets out proposals to update 140-year-old legislation to give the UK stronger tools to protect its critical undersea infrastructure, including tougher penalties, new requirements on the telecoms industry and powers for government to intervene and direct telecoms providers where national security is at risk.
Under the plans, new offences and tougher penalties such as prison sentences of up to 14 years, would apply to those who intentionally damage critical undersea energy and telecoms infrastructure, while subsea telecoms companies would be required to comply with new security and resilience duties, including stronger face tougher duties including stronger requirements to identify and manage risks to their networks.
The Government would also gain new powers to require telecoms providers to take steps to protect cables from threats such as sabotage or espionage, alongside new safeguards for fibre optic sensing technology, which can detect activity at sea but could pose national security risks if sensitive data fell into the wrong hands.
Telecoms Minister Ian Murray said:
“Undersea cables are the hidden backbone of modern Britain, carrying the data we rely on every day to message friends and family, do our banking, and run our businesses.
“The threats we face have changed dramatically, with suspicious Russian activity around critical undersea infrastructure, yet some of the laws protecting these vital connections date back more than a century.
“We intend to modernise those laws with tougher penalties, stronger requirements on industry and new powers to protect our national security, making sure the UK’s critical infrastructure is fit for the threats of today and tomorrow.”
Energy Minister, Michael Shanks, said:
“Undersea pipelines and cables are critical to keeping energy flowing to homes and businesses across the UK.
“This legislation will further strengthen deterrence and help ensure we can prevent, detect, and respond to threats against our energy supply.”
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said:
“Undersea cables carry the energy and data our country relies on every day. Protecting them is vital to our national security.
“We’re toughening the law to stay ahead of those who seek to do us harm. Those who deliberately or recklessly damage our undersea infrastructure will face tougher penalties, including longer prison sentences and unlimited fines.
“These measures are part of the work underway across government to protect our critical infrastructure and keep our country safe.”
The publication of the White Paper marks the start of a 12-week public consultation on the proposals, seeking views from industry, experts, and the wider public to help shape the final proposals.
The UK already has a highly resilient subsea cable network. Where cable faults occur, they are due to accidents involving anchors or trawler nets being dragged across the cables, environmental hazards or technical failures.
However, suspicious activity around critical undersea infrastructure is increasingly being observed. In April, the British Armed Forces exposed a covert Russian submarine operation around critical undersea infrastructure in and around UK waters.
Notes to editors
- The White Paper sets out legislation proposals for public consultation in four areas.
- modernising criminal law relating to harmful conduct against telecoms and energy Critical Undersea Infrastructure through new offences, stronger penalties and new enforcement measures;
- introducing statutory security and resilience duties for subsea telecoms cable infrastructure providers;
- creating a national security direction power enabling the Secretary of State to direct providers of subsea telecoms cable infrastructure and repair capabilities where necessary and proportionate in the interests of national security; and
- introducing a regulatory regime to manage national security risks associated with sensing technologies installed on subsea fibre optic cables, including those integrated into subsea telecoms and energy infrastructure.
- The public consultation will last for 12 weeks.
