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Undersea cables must have high-priority protection before they become top targets. It's 'essential to national security' ex-Navy intel officer tells us. Interview As undersea cables carry increasing amounts of information, cyber and physical attacks against them will cause a greater impact on the wider internet. Something like 95 percent of international data flows through those submarine cables, at a time when shipping, military exercises, and more threatens those global pathways. Governments need to step up and do a better job boosting the resiliency of Earth's communications and connectivity systems, including these underwater links, Cailabs US President Jeff Huggins told The Register in an interview you can watch below. Youtube Video "At some point, it moves from stuff that's nice to have to stuff that's essential to have — and essential to national security and commerce," Huggins said of the submarine cabling.  During his career, first as a US Navy intelligence officer, then his tenure at defense companies including Israel Aerospace Industries North America and Raytheon, and now at the laser communications developer, he's seen undersea and land internet cables become more of a target, and not only during times of international conflict. One solution might be to make more use of satellite links with ground optical networks. Don't miss his observations and insights; check out the video above for more.