The New York Joint Statement on the Security and Resilience of Undersea Cables
Undersecretary of State for Technological Innovation Alessio Butti and U.S. Ambassador Nathaniel Fick present the New York Joint Statement
At the end of the Technology and Digital Ministerial Meeting under the Italian G7 Presidency, the Undersecretary of State for Technological Innovation Alessio Butti announced Italy’s adoption of the “New York Joint Statement on the Security and Resilience of Undersea Cables in a Globally Digitalized World”, alongside U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel C. Fick.
"The transmission of large volumes of data and information permeates practically every aspect of our lives, and submarine cables are an essential infrastructure for global communication networks. By endorsing this Statement, we reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding the security and integrity of these critical infrastructures. We advocate for policies aimed at promoting the development of efficient, robust, and secure networks, which are fundamental to ensuring the continuity of data and information flows that underpin the global economy", explained the Undersecretary of State for Technological Innovation Alessio Butti.
“Protecting and expanding undersea cable networks is at the foundation of the global economy and our shared digital future. With the New York Principles, we’re signaling a shared commitment to effectively drive digital transformations all around the world by supporting projects that create efficient, resilient, and secure undersea cables” said the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel C. Fick.
The Principles of the New York Joint Statement
The Joint Statement underscores the need for a shared global approach to ensure the security, reliability, interoperability, sustainability, and resiliency for the deployment, repair and maintenance of undersea cable infrastructure. The endorsers – including Italy, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, France, Japan, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom – aspire to the following principles:
- Design undersea cable infrastructure and services with resilience, redundancy, and security in mind. Build and maintain this infrastructure incorporating cybersecurity best practices that safely facilitate international communication.
- Advance cooperation between endorsers to promote the selection of secure and verifiable subsea cable providers for new cable projects, in particular for intercontinental ICT cable projects, reduce latency and enhance route diversity, protect cables and anticipate risks of intentional or unintentional damage as well as risks of communications and data being compromised.
- Seek closer government and industry coordination for supporting responsible undersea cable deployment, maintenance, and repair according to established international industry norms.
- Emphasize the importance of spatial and route planning to promote coordinated use of seabeds, protect cables from natural or man-made hazards, ease chokepoints, and reduce risk of inadvertent disruption while expanding global connectivity. Encourage where applicable alternative submarine cable routes in view to improve resilience of the global cables network.
- Share with interested third parties and governments best practices for permitting and regulation to support international cable systems and supporting services and capabilities.
- Encourage transparency among undersea cable network service providers and operations and maintenance providers in terms of ownership, partnerships, and corporate governance structures.
- Consider security risk assessments regularly across the cable lifecycle, taking into account technical and non-technical risk factors such as undue influence by a third country on suppliers and service providers, while developing and implementing risk mitigation measures.
- Promote data risk mitigation frameworks and data security measures to protect cable networks from unauthorized access to data in transit or storage for dual purposes.
- Comply with applicable international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and domestic law and consider relevant policies at regional or national level, as well as applicable industry best practices, notably with regard to risk assessment and management.
By signing the Joint Statement, Italy and the United States of America invite other countries to endorse these principles and thereby create collaborative action to better preserve the reliability, integrity, security, and availability of infrastructure that supports the global community.