The United States is preparing a “New York Joint Statement” that outlines its plans to help secure global submarine communications cables that network the globe. This draft, which is set for signing by the U.S., EU member states, and other American allies later this month, demands that undersea cable operators must have supply chain and data security measures on their networks and that they report security incidents for monitoring.
The draft will push signees to work only with trusted suppliers from allied countries, potentially pushing out providers from unfriendly regimes like China, reports Politico. This was similar to the move that Washington made a few years back, when it pushed Chinese companies like Huawei out of its 5G infrastructure and encouraged its allies to do the same.
Aside from the use of trusted suppliers, the draft also encourages “undersea cable network service providers and operations and maintenance providers to have transparent ownership, partnerships, and corporate governance structures” to ensure that the companies working on the undersea networks have a clear organizational and ownership structure. That way, the involved governments know who exactly they’re dealing with, preventing an unknown entity from taking control.
