Networks
Proposed legislation threatens fines and prison for reckless damage. Russian Prez must be shaking in his boots
The British government wants stronger protection for subsea internet cables following a surge in Russian activity near UK waters, but its latest proposals lean heavily on fines and prison sentences rather than direct defensive action. Plans - outlined in a speech by Baroness Liz Lloyd, Minister for Digital Economy ahead of a consultation - include tougher penalties for recklessly damaging undersea cables, operator security obligations and emergency powers allowing government to compel businesses to better protect their infrastructure.In April, the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force tracked Russian submarines on a covert reconnaissance near critical undersea infrastructure. According to reports, Russia deployed an Akula-class attack submarine as a decoy while two specialist vessels from Directorate of Deep Sea Research - known as Glavnoye Upravlenie Glubokovodnikh Issledovanii (GUGI) - surveyed the UK's cable routes.
“Their mission was to survey our cables in peacetime, so they could more easily sabotage them in a conflict,” Lloyd said in a speech delivered at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “They wanted this operation to be secret, but they failed."
