The UK government published a White Paper on 22 October 2026 proposing tougher penalties for those who damage undersea cables and pipelines, including prison sentences of up to 14 years and unlimited fines for intentional damage to critical energy and telecoms infrastructure. The plans also include new statutory security and resilience duties for subsea telecoms cable providers and powers for the government to direct providers where national security is at risk, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The department said undersea fibre-optic cables carry around 99% of the UK's international data, while undersea pipelines provide 74% of the UK's gas supply. It cited suspicious Russian activity around critical undersea infrastructure, including a covert submarine operation it said the British Armed Forces exposed in April, as context for updating legislation it described as 140 years old. The proposals also cover safeguards for fibre-optic sensing technology.

A 12-week public consultation on the proposals began with the White Paper's publication, seeking views from industry, experts and the public.