The British government proposed prison terms of up to 14 years for intentionally damaging the undersea cables and pipelines that carry most of the country's international data and much of its gas, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced Thursday. The plan would also give cable operators legal security duties and let ministers direct them on national security grounds, turning seabed links into regulated national assets with board-level penalties attached.
What Happened
The proposals appear in a white paper, "Critical Undersea Infrastructure Security and Resilience: Proposals for Modernising the UK's Legislation," with a foreword by telecoms minister Ian Murray and energy minister Michael Shanks. Security minister Dan Jarvis joined the announcement.
At its core is a new offense of causing a "security compromise" to subsea data or energy systems, including interconnectors, the cables that link Britain's power grid to other countries. It would cover physical damage, remote electronic interference and cyber activity, as well as preparatory conduct such as mapping or surveying the infrastructure. Proposed maximums are 14 years for intentional conduct, 10 years for reckless conduct and two years for gross negligence, with unlimited fines that can also fall on companies. The government is considering life imprisonment where conduct causes or risks loss of life or serious harm to national security.
The new law would replace the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885, which refers only to telegraph communications and does not cover pipelines. Deliberate damage under that act carries a maximum of five years and a fine of 1,000 pounds, The Record reported.
Subsea data cable providers would have to manage the risk of compromise, respond when one occurs, notify the government and a designated regulator as soon as reasonably practicable and warn direct customers of significant risks. Proposed fines reach 10 million pounds or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher. Ministers could direct cable and repair providers to take or refrain from specific steps; breaching a direction could cost up to 17 million pounds or 10% of global turnover, plus daily penalties of up to 100,000 pounds.
A separate regime would cover fiber-optic sensing, technology that turns a cable into a sensor able to detect activity at sea. Operators would generally need to give at least six months' notice before adding it to existing cables and typically 12 months for new ones.
Why It Matters
Undersea cables carry about 99% of Britain's international data traffic and pipelines supply 74% of its gas, according to the government, which counts 64 active telecoms cable systems landing in the country. Revenue-based fines and a direction power move cable security from an engineering question to one for boards and general counsel at operators and repair firms.
The stakes extend past Britain. The Register noted a parliamentary committee's warning last year about attackers targeting links to Europe and across the Atlantic at the same time, a reminder that the links at issue include those connecting Britain with North America. U.S. companies that own, lease or rely on capacity on cables landing in Britain will want to follow how the operator duties and direction power are written.
Context
The government cites suspicious Russian activity near its infrastructure. The foreword says British forces, with allies, tracked Russian submarines in April "whose mission was to survey cables." The government also says most cable faults stem from accidents such as dragged anchors and fishing nets, and the white paper acknowledges deliberate interference can be hard to tell apart from accidents. Matt Western, who chairs Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, said the current law "was written in a different age," The Record reported.
The Primary Wire reported this month that a senior Iranian security official named cables, data centers and AI sites as possible targets if fighting resumes, citing The Associated Press.
What to Watch
The consultation closes at 11:59 p.m. U.K. time Jan. 14, 2027, and seeks views from infrastructure owners, maritime and fishing groups and sensing-technology providers. Watch for which body becomes the designated regulator, whether life sentences make the final bill and how the notice rules for sensing land with operators.
