national security

Panel Flags Regulatory Gaps as Cable Vulnerabilities Increase

Experts cite fragmented U.S. oversight amid growing physical and geopolitical threats.

Akul Saxena

Nov 21, 2025 — 2 min read

Photo of, from left, Erin Murphy, deputy director of the Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at CSIS; Grace Koh, vice president for government relations at Ciena; Matt Pearl, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at CSIS; Nakamura Tomohiro, counsellor for cyber and digital policy at the Embassy of Japan; and Tim Stronge, chief research officer at TeleGeography, during a CSIS panel on subsea cable resiliency in Washington on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2025 – Security analysts and industry officials said Friday that subsea fiber-optic cables faced mounting physical and geopolitical risks while the United States continued operating under a fragmented regulatory system that has not kept pace with modern digital infrastructure.

The event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan Washington-based think-thank, preempts the release of a report on global subsea cable resiliency.

Speakers from government, industry and research groups described how accidental damage, natural hazards and state-backed interference had intensified as cable routes expanded and AI-driven demand increased.

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national security subsea cable CSIS Thomas Bryja Tim Stronge Nakamura Tomohiro Indo-Pacific Embassy of Japan Taiwan Luzon Strait Matt Pearl Grace Koh Ciena Erin Murphy Emerging Asian economies Philippines TeleGeography