A NATO-supported initiative is working to strengthen the internet’s resilience by extending critical communications into space.
The £2 million project, called HEIST (Hybrid Space/Submarine Architecture Ensuring Infosec of Telecommunications), was approved on 31 July 2024. It is partly funded through NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) programme.
HEIST aims to create a space-based backup that keeps information flowing if undersea cables — which carry roughly 99% of international data traffic — are damaged, whether by accident or malicious action.
“Through this SPS-supported project, NATO is bringing together Allies, leading academic institutions including Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and the Swedish Defence University, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and telecommunications companies to address the urgent need for a more resilient global internet infrastructure,” said Dr Eyup Turmus, SPS Advisor and Programme Manager at NATO.
In recent years concerns about the vulnerability of subsea cables have grown, from accidental cuts by ship anchors to the possibility of deliberate sabotage. Such incidents could cause large-scale outages and major disruption to international communications and commerce.
HEIST seeks to mitigate these risks by developing a hybrid network that combines the high-capacity, established routing of submarine cables with the flexibility and reach of satellite communications. The hybrid approach aims to ensure continuity of service when undersea routes are interrupted.
A multinational consortium — involving universities and companies from the United States, Iceland, Sweden, and Switzerland — will develop a working prototype over the next two years. The project focuses on technical feasibility, secure information routing, and operational concepts that integrate space and submarine systems.
A live demonstration is planned at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden, hosted by the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Maritime Research Centre. The demonstration will showcase how the hybrid architecture can reroute traffic into space in the event of cable disruption.
Beyond engineering challenges, HEIST must address legal and jurisdictional issues arising from operating a combined space and undersea network. International cooperation will be essential to define governance, regulatory compliance, and secure interoperability across domains.
The project’s goals include developing robust protocols for rapid failover between submarine and satellite links, ensuring data security during transit, and designing scalable architectures that can be adopted by network operators and service providers worldwide.
HEIST also plans to evaluate operational trade-offs, such as bandwidth limits and latency differences between subsea and satellite paths, and to propose practical policies for prioritizing critical traffic during emergencies. The research will inform both technical implementation and policy frameworks to support resilient global communications.
In addition to academic partners and industry contributors, the project will engage stakeholders across government and telecommunications sectors to align technical solutions with legal, commercial, and security requirements. This multi-stakeholder approach is intended to maximize adoption and long-term sustainability.
(Photo by Thom Schneider)
See also: France hit by coordinated attacks on telecom infrastructure
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