Proposals for new legislation to strengthen the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure (CUI)
Consultation description
The UK is highly dependent on critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) owned and operated by private sector companies for its data and energy needs. Subsea telecoms cables carry 99% of the UK’s international data traffic, while undersea pipelines provide approximately three-quarters of the UK’s gas supply. Our reliance on CUI is only set to grow as the demand for data increases, and more energy generation moves offshore.
The UK’s subsea connectivity is resilient, with infrastructure faults rarely causing noticeable disruption to data or energy availability. However, CUI remains vulnerable to damage from accidents and potential sabotage. CUI’s importance and vulnerability make it a potential target for those wishing to do the UK harm, including hostile states.
The government has reviewed the effectiveness of existing legislation at addressing CUI security and resilience risks, and identified areas in need of reform. We have set out our proposes for strengthening UK legislation in our White Paper, titled ‘Critical Undersea Infrastructure Security and Resilience: Proposals for modernising the UK’s legislation’.
The government welcomes views on the proposals set out in the White Paper from anyone with an interest in them, particularly owners and operators of undersea infrastructure, maritime and fishing organisations, and subsea fibre-optic sensing technology providers. The feedback received will inform further development of the proposals and any future legislation.
You can respond to the consultation by completing the online questionnaire
You can also provide us with information on the potential costs of the proposals to you, or your organisation, by completing an online cost impact survey.
In exceptional circumstances, if you need to submit a hard copy response, or require another format (e.g. braille or large font), please contact cui.legislation.consultation@DSIT.gov.uk.