Representative Rudy Yakym (R-IN) introduced the Safeguarding Essential Cables through Undersea Risk Elimination (SECURE) American Telecommunications Act (H.R. 3479) to ensure that the U.S. is able to hold adversaries accountable for cutting telecommunications cables.
“Over the last four years, our adversaries grew bolder, economically and militarily, because they knew they’d face no real consequences,” Yakym said. This bill “changes that. It enhances penalties for cutting undersea cables and creates a comprehensive new security framework to protect them.” He added the measure is about securing America’s critical infrastructure, and ensuring that “those who seek to harm us know they will pay the price.”
Submarine cables are the backbone of global digital infrastructure, carrying more than 95 percent of transoceanic data and facilitating over $10 trillion in daily financial transactions, according to Yakym. Despite their critical importance, these cables remain vulnerable to both physical and cyber threats, highlighted by recent suspicious incidents involving Russian and Chinese vessels near cable routes in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, Inside Towers reported.
The laws governing these vital systems haven’t been updated in over a century, Yakym explains. Current penalties for damaging submarine cables are just $500 for negligence and $5,000 for intentional acts. There’s no statutory mandate for physical or cybersecurity standards in place.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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