New Zealand Takes 10 Steps to Protect Undersea Cables

New Zealand is quietly making big moves to protect the invisible lifelines that keep the country online and powered.

The government has launched 10 initiatives to safeguard undersea internet and power cables after recent sabotage and accidental damage to similar infrastructure in Europe and Asia raised alarm bells worldwide. Eight of the measures are already complete or underway.

Assistant Transport Minister James Meager specifically requested "no-cost, low-effort" options that could counter the greatest vulnerabilities without breaking the bank. A newly released government report shows New Zealand is already "generally well set up" compared to international best practices, but there's room to strengthen defenses.

The country conducted its first-ever simulated data cable break exercise on March 10. Officials are also launching biannual threat assessments to stay ahead of potential dangers, with fishing, anchoring, and earthquakes identified as the likeliest threats.

One of the most promising developments is a national surveillance warning capability that was successfully tested late last year. The Ministry of Transport is now asking whether to launch the full system.

The stakes are real. The Cook Strait power cables alone provide up to 30 percent of the North Island's electricity during peak demand. A long outage could seriously impact supply nationwide and spike wholesale prices.

For internet connectivity, New Zealand currently has five international cables designed with spare capacity. If one fails, most users wouldn't even notice because companies cooperatively reroute traffic immediately. The country looked at Iceland's "Unplugged" exercise, which simulated all four of the island nation's cables being cut, and determined the findings were relevant enough that New Zealand didn't need to run its own costly simulation yet.

The Bright Side

The best defense against disruption is having more cables spread across different geographic areas, and that's exactly what's happening. Work has already begun on one new international cable, with planning advanced for another. Each new cable costs around $1 billion, and companies say the main thing they need from government is protection for these massive investments.

New Zealand has also established cable protection zones with penalties to discourage ships from entering sensitive areas. In the Pacific, a cable repair ship based in Fiji is either laying new cable or on standby to respond to breaks, ensuring quick fixes when problems arise.

Two initiatives still need partner cooperation to launch, including a ship-tracking system that would let cable operators detect vessels near vulnerable infrastructure.

The country is showing that protecting critical infrastructure doesn't require massive spending, just smart planning and collaboration.