- Project HEIST wants to mitigate physical sabotage of underwater cables
- HEIST is expected to use laser optics rather than radio
- Exabytes of data flow in more than 1 million km of fiber across the globe
NATO is reportedly developing a satellite-based backup for global internet communications to address vulnerabilities exposed by recent undersea cable outages.
The project, known as HEIST (hybrid space-submarine architecture ensuring telecommunications infosec), comes in response to the February 2024 incident when the cargo ship Rubymar, hit by a Houthi missile attack, pulled its anchor across the Red Sea floor, cutting three over. fiber optic cables.
A report of IEEE spectrum claims that these cables carried about a quarter of all internet traffic between Europe and Asia, forcing data rerouting and highlighting the fragile nature of global internet infrastructure.
Ready for testing
Over 95% of intercontinental Internet traffic relies on undersea fiber optic cables, and more than 1.2 million kilometers of them span the entire planet. These thin cables lie unburied across deep seabeds, making them vulnerable to accidental damage and sabotage.
The Rubymar incident was accidental, but Western officials have evidence of deliberate undersea cable sabotage by state actors such as Russia and China. NATO has already announced plans to prevent this from happening in the future using underwater drones.
HEIST aims to counter such threats by ensuring that critical Internet pathways remain operational even when fiber lines are compromised.
The project has two main objectives: to quickly detect cable damage and precisely locate breaks, and to expand the capacity to reroute data through alternative channels, including satellites. The focus will be on redirecting high-priority data to satellites, reducing reliance on vulnerable undersea cables.
The project will begin testing in 2025 at Blekinge Tekniska Högskola in Sweden. Researchers from several countries, including the United States, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland, will work to develop faster fracture detection systems capable of locating damage with an accuracy within a meter.
The researchers will also explore satellite-based failsafes using higher-bandwidth laser optics, which can transmit far more data than current radio-based satellite systems.
While satellite throughput is limited compared to fiber, the HEIST team is focusing on expanding bandwidth through technologies such as infrared lasers already in use on Starlink satellites.
Although no single solution currently exists, NATO’s goal is to create a diverse and resilient network that ensures secure global communications in emergencies.
