The security of fiber optic cables and similar submarine infrastructure can no longer be taken for granted.
“Until quite recently, the security of fiber optic cables and similar international infrastructure received little political interest. Now, the importance of the topic is widely recognized.”
Lars Gjesvik is a senior researcher in the research group for Security and Defense at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), where he also serves at the co-leader of the research center for digitization and cyber security.
“Following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the sabotage of the North Stream gas pipeline later that year, everybody can see the challenges relating to safeguarding vital infrastructure such a fiber optic cables, energy resources pipelines, and power cables. Recent events in the Middle East have contributed further to the realization of how important such connections are in international politics,” says Lars Gjesvik.
The quiet battle over ownership
Gjesvik’s expertise includes issues related to the global surveillance industry, technological dependency, and the role of technology companies in shaping international politics.
“We see several changes in the ownership of infrastructure, with contractors from China, USA, and Europe being very active. Also, we see a trend to hyperscale computing which further increases the importance on controlling the necessary infrastructure.”
While the potential physical threats to infrastructure have become obvious, issues around consolidation in the industry receives less attention, Lars Gjesvik notes:
“The developments around ownership are related to the security of connections. This is beginning to dawn on the various stakeholders, and we see national governments becoming more active, and NATO, and the EU.”
Political dimension to Arctic connections
Before joining NUPI, Lars Gjesvik obtained his doctorate from the University of Oslo. While most academic reports live quiet lives, his Ph.D. thesis on cloud computing and submarine cable security in relation to international politics immediately got wide attention. This was in 2023.
“The timing happened to be right. When I obtained my Ph.D. position in 2019, my topic was seen as a niche interest within political science. This began to change in 2020 and with the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, things were taken up another notch.”
Lars Gjesvik is following the efforts of the Nordic NRENs, NORDUnet, and partners to establish submarine cables in the Arctic region with interest.
“Arctic connections will clearly have a large political dimension. Also, these connections are planned at a time with interesting developments in related fields such as sensing technology and data management.”
Lars Gjesvik is a senior researcher in the research group for Security and Defense at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).
