---
title: UK proposes up to 14 years in prison for deliberately damaging undersea cables, plus security duties for subsea telecom operators | ctxsec
url: https://ctxsec.com/items/uk-undersea-infrastructure-white-paper-14-year-sabotage
description: ""
status: "confirmed (UK government white paper, published Oct 22; open consultation)"
published: 2026-10-23
---

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confirmed (UK government white paper, published Oct 22; open consultation)

2026-10-23

### UK proposes up to 14 years in prison for deliberately damaging undersea cables, plus security duties for subsea telecom operators

The UK government published a white paper on **Oct 22** to replace the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885 for critical undersea infrastructure: telecom cables (about 99% of the UK's international data traffic), power interconnectors and pipelines.

- **Penalties:** up to 14 years for intentional damage, 10 for reckless and two for grossly negligent conduct, with unlimited fines; the government is considering higher maximums for the worst cases.
- **New duties:** statutory security and resilience requirements for subsea telecom operators, a national-security direction power over cable and repair providers, and rules for fiber-optic sensing technology.
- It is an open consultation, so details may change.

Sources: [GOV.UK: Critical Undersea Infrastructure Security and Resilience white paper (Oct 22)](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposals-for-new-legislation-to-strengthen-the-security-and-resilience-of-critical-undersea-infrastructure-cui/critical-undersea-infrastructure-security-and-resilience-proposals-for-modernising-the-uks-legislation-white-paper) · [The Record (Oct 23)](https://therecord.media/uk-undersea-cables-sabotage-new-sentencing-guidelines)