Latest news with #BalticSentry
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Telecoms: Efforts to Damage Undersea Cables Could Disrupt the Global Internet
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Following a string of alleged Russian attacks on undersea cables, a group of Europe's largest telecom companies are urging NATO and other military leaders to do more to protect the region's undersea infrastructure. 'With the rise in hybrid threats, including incidents affecting subsea cables in the Baltic and North Sea, we emphasize the importance of enhanced, coordinated action to safeguard Europe's cross-border networks,' the companies wrote in an open letter to EU, UK, and NATO decision makers. The companies—which include Spain's Telefónica, Vodafone, and O2 owner Orange—argue that the 'repercussions of damage to subsea cables extend far beyond Europe,' claiming future attacks could impact 'global internet and power infrastructure, international communications, financial transactions, and critical services worldwide.' The letter calls on leaders to engage in the 'robust exchange of knowledge and intelligence,' including 'shared monitoring and surveillance initiatives,' and calls for 'investment in advanced technologies to detect and mitigate damage to subsea cables.' Though the document doesn't explicitly name any foreign powers, Russia is suspected to be behind several high-profile incidents over the past year. In November 2024, a Chinese ship was surrounded by European vessels due to suspicions that it attempted to sabotage fiber-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. The Yi Peng 3, a commercial ship filled with Russian goods, dragged an anchor over 100 miles across Northern Europe's Baltic seabed, and the investigation reportedly focused on whether the ship's crew was directed to drag the anchor to intentionally damage the cables. That came after cables connecting Lithuania and Sweden, as well as Finland and Germany, were slashed the month prior. In January, Sweden also began investigating a cargo ship for deliberately damaging an undersea fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea, which connected Sweden and Latvia, after detecting connectivity issues. Russia and China have denied intentionally damaging any undersea infrastructure. In January, however, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in a statement directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin that, "We know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country." NATO is already looking at ways to protect subsea cables, including aquatic drones that can monitor the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas for threats and potentially be equipped with weapons. In January, NATO announced "Baltic Sentry," a military activity intended "to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure [and] improve Allies' ability to respond to destabilizing acts." The organization confirmed that naval drones are part of the effort, as are frigates (warships) and maritime patrol aircraft. "NATO will work within the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network, which includes industry, to explore further ways to protect infrastructure and improve resilience of underwater assets," it says.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Telecoms: Efforts to Damage Undersea Cables Could Disrupt the Global Internet
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Following a string of alleged Russian attacks on undersea cables, a group of Europe's largest telecom companies are urging NATO and other military leaders to do more to protect the region's undersea infrastructure. 'With the rise in hybrid threats, including incidents affecting subsea cables in the Baltic and North Sea, we emphasize the importance of enhanced, coordinated action to safeguard Europe's cross-border networks,' the companies wrote in an open letter to EU, UK, and NATO decision makers. The companies—which include Spain's Telefónica, Vodafone, and O2 owner Orange—argue that the 'repercussions of damage to subsea cables extend far beyond Europe,' claiming future attacks could impact 'global internet and power infrastructure, international communications, financial transactions, and critical services worldwide.' The letter calls on leaders to engage in the 'robust exchange of knowledge and intelligence,' including 'shared monitoring and surveillance initiatives,' and calls for 'investment in advanced technologies to detect and mitigate damage to subsea cables.' Though the document doesn't explicitly name any foreign powers, Russia is suspected to be behind several high-profile incidents over the past year. In November 2024, a Chinese ship was surrounded by European vessels due to suspicions that it attempted to sabotage fiber-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. The Yi Peng 3, a commercial ship filled with Russian goods, dragged an anchor over 100 miles across Northern Europe's Baltic seabed, and the investigation reportedly focused on whether the ship's crew was directed to drag the anchor to intentionally damage the cables. That came after cables connecting Lithuania and Sweden, as well as Finland and Germany, were slashed the month prior. In January, Sweden also began investigating a cargo ship for deliberately damaging an undersea fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea, which connected Sweden and Latvia, after detecting connectivity issues. Russia and China have denied intentionally damaging any undersea infrastructure. In January, however, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in a statement directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin that, "We know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country." NATO is already looking at ways to protect subsea cables, including aquatic drones that can monitor the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas for threats and potentially be equipped with weapons. In January, NATO announced "Baltic Sentry," a military activity intended "to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure [and] improve Allies' ability to respond to destabilizing acts." The organization confirmed that naval drones are part of the effort, as are frigates (warships) and maritime patrol aircraft. "NATO will work within the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network, which includes industry, to explore further ways to protect infrastructure and improve resilience of underwater assets," it says.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US and Finnish navies display drones used to enhance security in Baltic Sea
40 US Marine personnel have been stationed in Finland - their use of unmanned aerial vehicles has been part of NATO's Baltic Sentry surveillance operation. The operation was set up in response to damage to undersea cables connecting Estonia and Finland on Christmas Day last year. (AP video by Tommi Ojala)
Wall Street Journal
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
How NATO Patrols the Sea for Suspected Russian Sabotage
ABOARD THE HNLMS LUYMES—Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx was patrolling the Baltic Sea recently when he got word that a ship on NATO's watchlist was acting in a suspicious manner. After leaving a Russian port, it had slowed down while passing near a pipeline on the sea bottom. The Luymes sailed toward the tanker to investigate. Kockx leads a task force in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's new mission to police the inland sea that its members share with Russia. NATO in January launched the operation, dubbed Baltic Sentry, after a string of undersea cables and pipelines were damaged by ships—many with links to Russia—that had dragged their anchors.
NBC News
25-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
As Trump negotiates with Putin, NATO fights Russian sabotage of undersea cables
Lt. Cmdr. Sjoerd Knoop, captain of the Luymes, said dragging an anchor along the seabed was an obvious sign of suspicion as the crew searched for saboteurs. 'It's not normal behavior,' he said. Other possible warning signs include sudden changes of speed by the ships in the area around the undersea cables. Since the launch of Baltic Sentry in mid-January, there have been no clear examples of sabotage. But it's not clear what exactly the warships would do if they did come across an attack. NATO has no law enforcement powers and would likely have to rely on authorities in its member states to carry out arrests and prosecutions once the suspect ship passed through their territorial waters. 'NATO is here in the first place to deconflict and to deter, and we hope with our mere presence anybody who would think about inflicting damage to critical underwater infrastructure will think twice,' said Kockx. The number of ships involved in Baltic Sentry fluctuates — there were seven vessels involved while NBC News was observing the mission — but all are European. U.S. involvement is limited to reconnaissance aircraft and a small force of Marines equipped with drones deployed to an island off the coast of Finland. In that sense it appears to meet Trump's demand for a NATO alliance in which European states do more to protect themselves and rely less on the U.S. But what works for a relatively small-scale naval patrol may not be replicable for the defense of a continent, where European allies rely heavily on advanced American capabilities like anti-missile systems and midair refueling. Some Europeans fear that Trump's warm words for Putin and his criticism of NATO allies are signs that he is preparing to abandon the traditional U.S. role in Europe's security. 'It is clear that the Americans — or in any case, the Americans in this administration — do not care much about the fate of Europe,' said Friedrich Merz, the incoming chancellor of Germany, in a televised interview hours after his general election victory on Feb. 23. Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, has said that while the Trump administration remains committed to NATO's core principle of collective defense it was shifting its focus from Europe to the Pacific. NATO naval officers interviewed by NBC News insisted that the political tensions between the U.S. and its European allies were not filtering down to the operational level. 'We are still NATO, we are one, and we are working together, absolutely,' said Kockx. At the stern of the Hinnøy, there were what appeared to be three small, bright orange submarines. Each was in fact a different type of underwater drone. They were designed for the ship's original purpose of finding and disarming naval mines. But they have also proved helpful in giving the crew a detailed look at the undersea cables they are tasked with protecting. One crew member laid an appreciative hand on a Pluto Plus 40, an Italian-made drone about two yards long equipped with several cameras. 'It's a very effective way to get eyes down at the sea bottom,' he said.
