cutting a cable under the sea could cost you 14 years, not £100

almost every byte that leaves britain goes by sea. the government puts it at about 99 percent of the country’s international data, and undersea pipelines bring in 74 percent of its gas. the main law protecting the cables is the submarine telegraph act 1885, which, the register notes, caps the fine for damaging one through culpable negligence at £100.

on thursday the government published a white paper to replace it. deliberately damaging critical subsea energy or telecoms kit could carry up to 14 years in prison, and reckless or negligent damage would face fines with no ceiling. companies that run subsea telecoms cables would have a legal duty to find and manage security risks, and ministers could order them, and the firms that repair cables, to act when national security is at stake. it also wants rules for fibre-optic sensing, because the data it collects could help a hostile state.

the timing is not subtle. in april british forces exposed a russian submarine operation around britain’s undersea infrastructure, and telecoms minister ian murray says the threats have changed dramatically. still, most breaks are not sabotage. earlier government estimates, cited by the register, blame fishing gear and dragged anchors for up to 97 percent of faults, and a crime scene on the seabed is hard to pin on anyone.