Source · Select Committees · National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 5
5
Not Addressed
Many cable landing stations are vulnerable to attack.
Recommendation
Many cable landing stations are vulnerable to attack. The Government and operators must take the risk of state-backed sabotage seriously, including against targets in Europe. (Conclusion, Paragraph 47)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response discusses the need for a UK-based and UK-flagged repair ship, which does not address the committee's recommendation about the vulnerability of cable landing stations or taking the risk of state-backed sabotage seriously.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
We agree with the Committee on the need to strengthen the security of UK cable landing stations, including target hardening to deter state-backed sabotage. The NPSA and NCSC have already carried out security assessments of certain landing stations and provided tailored advice to the owners and operators. However, we recognise that more is required to improve their security across the board. The Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will write to all UK landing station operators to emphasise the importance of robust security standards and request the development of emergency ‘good enough’ repair plans over the next 12 months. In doing so, we will define what constitutes a ‘good enough’ repair plan, providing guidance to industry on our expectations. We are currently reviewing UK legislation relating to subsea cable infrastructure and will determine whether further obligations need to be placed on landing station operators to ensure they produce such repair plans. DSIT will work with the NPSA and European counterparts to explore the possibility of conducting a similar exercise at key landing stations on the continent to ensure both ends of the cable are secured to equivalent high standards.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗