An undersea cable runs along the bottom of the ocean near Fiji. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking to exercise greater regulatory control over equipment related to cable laying and maintenance, amid security concerns. (Shutterstock/Poggensee)

FCC Tightens Oversight of Undersea Cables

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The FCC, responsible for communications regulations in the United States, is watching who has access to vital cable infrastructure—with an eye towards espionage or sabotage.

Even as the majority of Americans carry a smartphone and have near-constant access to the Internet and are used to the “wireless” world of Wi-Fi, the fact remains that the world is very much “wired.” More than 99 percent of international Internet traffic is carried via largely-unguarded undersea cables—a fact that most people are not aware of, and one meaning that rogue actors with sufficient resources could either spy on the cables or cause mass chaos by attacking them.

Last November, the threat to this vital infrastructure was addressed before lawmakers on the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security and the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.

“[Undersea cables] are the backbone of global finance. More than $12 trillion in financial transactions flow over........

© The National Interest