Systems Science for Defence and Security participates in NATO project to future-proof global internet traffic

The future-proofing of global internet traffic is a hybrid solution aimed at seamlessly redirecting internet traffic from underwater cables to satellite systems in the event of sabotage or a natural disaster.

The project is called HEIST (Hybrid Space/Submarine Architecture Ensuring Infosec of Telecommunications) and is led by Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In addition to researchers from Cornell University, researchers from Johns Hopkins University, ETH Zurich, Bifröst and the Swedish Defence University are participating, along with telecommunications companies and government representatives from several NATO countries. A testbed for the project will be developed at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH). The project is partially funded by NATO's Science for Peace and Security program, which emphasizes the need for a more robust internet infrastructure capable of withstanding future disruptions.

Systems Science for Defence and Security participate in international research

The technology yhat combines underwater cables and satellite communication, will ensure protection against digital disruptions and ensure uninterrupted data traffic – even when the deepest underwater cables are threatened. The project aims to contribute to research and development in collaboration with several international universities and companies.

“This is an exciting project that builds on several research areas where we in the department of Systems Science for Defence and Security have been active in recent years, such as infrastructure security, cybersecurity, and underwater autonomy,” says Hans Liwång, newly appointed professor of Systems Science for Defence and Security at the Swedish Defence University.

The part of the research work led by the Swedish Defence University's researchers focuses on the situational awareness required to make well-balanced decisions about how data traffic should be sent between various parties, civilian and military. Hans Liwång, one of the two partner country directors of the project, envisions a system that can redirect sensitive data even as a preventive measure.

"It makes sense to develop an automated backup system in space considering the increasing threats to critical underwater infrastructure. Some locations are more vulnerable than others and the risks range from cables being accidentally cut when anchors are pulled along the seabed to deliberate sabotage," he says.

HEIST is an interdisciplinary project and, in addition to technology research, also includes research in law and political science from institutions such as Bifröst University in Iceland and the ETH Zürich in Switzerland. NATO's Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme has approved a grant of just over four million SEK, with the total project budget estimated at around 25 million SEK. The project also has strong collaboration with and support from several key players, such as the Swedish Navy, the Icelandic Parliament, and Viasat. This type of collaboration, involving multiple countries and various perspectives, is important for NATO SPS.

The project will last for two and a half years and began this summer with a kickoff involving all participating parties.

“We have already initiated many of the discussions and collaborations that NATO SPS aims to achieve, between academia and industry and across various disciplines and perspectives. How urgent this issue is and where the challenges lie vary greatly depending on whether you are a technology researcher from the US, a political scientist from Switzerland, or a parliamentarian from Iceland. The research, development, and final solutions are also entirely dependent on civilian developments on land, at sea, and in space,” says Hans Liwång.

Background: Concerns over communication disruptions during crises

The initiative for HEIST comes amid growing concerns that underwater cables could be severed or otherwise manipulated in an attempt to disrupt communications during war or crisis. Data transported through undersea accounts for approximately 10 trillion dollars in financial transactions every day, and nearly all of NATO's internet traffic flows through them. Efforts to protect these sea cables have intensified over the past six months, and last year NATO established a center to coordinate best practices for safeguarding underwater infrastructure following the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

About the NATO project HEIST