4 minute read
What NATO’s project HEIST tells us about the growing importance of satellites
The modern world runs on invisible infrastructure. Beneath the ocean’s surface, a vast network of undersea cables forms the backbone of global communication, carrying nearly 99 percent of all internet traffic. These cables, stretching over 300,000 kilometres, connect continents, enable financial transactions, and support everything from streaming services to military operations. Yet despite their crucial role, they remain an overlooked vulnerability – one that is increasingly exposed to geopolitical conflict and sabotage.
Jeff Huggins, President of Cailabs, US
Cable disruptions are not new. On average, 200 such incidents occur each year, often due to accidental causes like fishing activity or natural disasters. But in recent years, deliberate attacks have become more common. In the past year alone, undersea cables in the Red Sea and Baltic Sea have reportedly been damaged by hostile actors, fueling concerns about the fragility of this critical infrastructure. As NATO expands and global tensions mount, attacks on subsea cables are likely to become a feature of modern warfare.
This is where Project HEIST comes in. Launched by NATO in mid-2023, HEIST – short for Hybrid SpaceSubmarine Architecture Ensuring Infosec of Telecommunications – is a pilot initiative aimed at fortifying global communication networks. The project is tackling two critical problems. First, it seeks to improve the speed and accuracy with which cable disruptions are detected, allowing operators to pinpoint the precise location of a break and mitigate service disruptions more efficiently. Second, it aims to ensure that when cables are damaged, whether by accident or attack, high-priority data can be rapidly rerouted through satellites to maintain connectivity.
Satellite technology is at the heart of these efforts. The sheer volume and sophistication of data that can now be gathered from space has expanded dramatically in recent years. A growing array of space-based sensors enables near-real-time monitoring of maritime traffic, allowing authorities to track vessel movements with extremely high accuracy. If a ship is loitering near undersea cables or exhibiting unusual behavior, satellites can flag the activity before any damage occurs.
For satellites to serve as an effective surveillance and backup communication system, data transfer needs to be fast and seamless. Traditional radio-frequency systems, while reliable, are struggling to keep up with the demands of modern satellite networks due to congestion. Latency – the delay in transmitting information, sometimes called ‘lag’ – can be critical in situations where rapid response is required. Optical communication systems, which transmit data via laser from satellites to ground stations, offer a solution. With speeds ranging from tens of gigabits per second to as much as one terabit per second, optical ground stations are in position to become a key component in the future of space-enabled global connectivity.
Beyond tracking and surveillance, HEIST is exploring ways to ensure that data keeps flowing even when cables are cut. The initiative is investigating the feasibility of rerouting traffic to satellites in the event of disruptions, thereby creating a more resilient communications network. While satellite internet, as it currently stands, cannot match the sheer capacity of subsea cables, it can serve as a vital stopgap. Services like Elon Musk’s Starlink have already shown their value in crisis situations, such as when an undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga severed the island nation’s primary internet link in early 2022. Emergency connectivity was restored via Starlink within a matter of weeks.
For the global economy and national security alike, bolstering internet resilience is an urgent necessity. Threats to subsea cables are growing, and these are coming from state actors engaging in covert sabotage, non-state groups seeking to disrupt global communication, and simple accidents made more likely by the increasing congestion of maritime trade routes. Investing in high-tech solutions, such as optical ground stations, will be crucial to ensuring that global connectivity remains stable and secure at such an unstable, insecure time.
As geopolitical tensions rise, the likelihood of more aggressive cable attacks grows. Nations that depend on these networks for economic, military, and political stability must treat cable security as a strategic priority. HEIST is just the beginning, but its mission underscores an inescapable reality: the digital world is only as strong as the physical infrastructure beneath it, and that infrastructure is far more vulnerable than many realize.
