Acoustic sensing could be key to reducing the amount of state-backed sabotage of underwater fibre optic cables

• Distributed acoustic sensing detects disturbances in fibre optic signals to identify underwater threats
• NATO’s ‘Baltic Sentry’ mission enhances subsea security, but surveillance remains difficult
• AP Sensing’s North Sea deployment highlights fibre optics’ role in security

Subsea fibre optic cables are a crucial part of global internet infrastructure, yet recent damage incidents in the Baltic Sea have raised concerns about their security.

Per the BBC, there are now efforts to mitigate the risk of sabotage by using a decades-old technique known as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS).