Who protects the cables that carry the internet?

An international effort led by ITU is trying to strengthen one of the world's least visible but most important forms of infrastructure: the submarine cables that carry virtually all data traffic.

The International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience approved a final report at its meeting in Geneva on July 10, 2026. (©ITU/A. Lechat)

GENEVA — The global economy depends on a network that most people never see.

Hidden beneath the oceans, hundreds of submarine telecommunications cables carry 99% of all intercontinental data traffic, connecting …