Late last month, NATO defense ministers met virtually to discuss an increasingly urgent subject: the security of the undersea cables that transmit virtually all Internet traffic between the United States and Europe. If a hostile country were to sabotage the cables, daily life—especially now, during the pandemic—would immediately grind to a halt.
After their meeting, the defense ministers declined to say how they were planning to keep the cables safe. But one thing is clear: Even though the cables carry both civilian and military Internet traffic, they’re privately owned and operated. Any effort to protect them will need to involve both governments and the private sector.
