STORY
The Government has set out plans for tougher penalties against ship owners and operators who recklessly damage subsea internet cables. Ministers said the proposals were being developed amid heightened concern about Russian activity and the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure beneath the sea.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the measures would include tougher fines and possible prison sentences for those responsible for damaging cables essential to UK internet access. New obligations on cable operators to improve security and new emergency powers for ministers are also expected to be considered in a consultation later this year.
Telecoms minister Baroness Lloyd set out the plans in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute. The Government said subsea cables carry almost all international data traffic and underpin more than £1.4 trillion in British financial transactions each day, making their protection a national security and economic priority.