Integrated Surveillance mechanism: Regional Cable hubs

Expected Outcome

• A consolidated reference on private situational data relevant for submarine-cable security

A structured description of the main categories of private situational data and actors relevant for submarine-cable security, including their sensitivity profile, typical usage, and the key legal, regulatory and commercial constraints affecting possible access by Regional Cable Hubs.

• Interoperability and data fusion pathways for multi-source, multi-basin use

Clear conclusions on the main interoperability and data fusion challenges and feasible solutions (e.g. common data models or ontologies, interoperability layers, translation and fusion layers), including indications on which approaches are realistically applicable across multiple providers and sea basins, and how they can remain extensible to accommodate new data sources and actors over time.

• A proof-of-concept demonstration showing how selected private situational data can be accessed, integrated and processed within a Regional Cable Hub–type environment, together with a practical demonstration of the situational-awareness outcomes that such integration can produce. This includes evidence on the achievable levels of spatial precision, timeliness, coverage and reliability under pilot conditions, as well as identification of the constraints that limit performance.

• Partnership models and recommendations for EU follow-up

A concise set of partnership models through which Regional Cable Hubs could obtain or use private situational data (e.g. service-based, data-sharing, or hybrid arrangements), with associated requirements for their viability and compliance, an assessment of their expected impact and limitations on situational awareness, and recommendations for possible EU-level guidance, support measures or follow-up actions.

Objective

The situational data that could contribute to improved awareness of threats to submarine cables (e.g. sensor feeds, maritime or satellite surveillance data) are subject to complex and heterogeneous governance conditions. These conditions may vary across cable systems, operators and sea basins, reflecting differing ownership structures, contractual arrangements and applicable regulatory or security frameworks. As a result, there is currently limited clarity on how such data could be accessed, combined and used in a structured manner to support cable-security objectives.

The Pilot Project aims, through analytical work and targeted pilot activities in non-operational settings, to determine how private-sector situational data relevant to submarine-cable security could support the functioning of Regional Cable Hubs, as envisaged under the EU Action Plan on Cable Security and currently under implementation at Union level (established under the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) Call 9).

In view of the preparatory nature of the action, proposals are encouraged to build on relevant experience and capacities developed in related Union initiatives on submarine cable security, including by entities involved in the establishment of Regional Cable Hubs.

Scope

The Pilot Project will combine interaction with the range of concerned private actors related to cable security and analysis with small-scale pilots to explore the full process of accessing and using such data:

• Map the landscape of situational data held by private actors relevant to submarine-cable security, sources and type of such data (cable-related telemetry, sensor feeds, satellite and maritime-surveillance data, underwater-drone outputs and other emerging modalities); identify their technical characteristics (e.g. real-time, proprietary formats, latency, frequency), ownership, confidentiality profile, availability, usage patterns and the legal, contractual, security or other applicable constraints governing their access.
• Assess the feasibility of accessing and integrating such data into a Regional Cable Hub, by first examining the commercial, organisational, regulatory and security conditions under which private actors could interface with Cable Hubs, and then analysing the technical implications of such cooperation, including the requirements for data ingestion (such as APIs, gateways, pipelines, authentication and security controls) and the maturity and limitations of existing commercial or open platforms that could support this integration and subsequent data fusion.
• Analyse interoperability and data fusion challenges across multiple providers, diverse data sources and different sea basins, including whether harmonisation of formats, frequencies and semantics is needed; the potential role of common data models, taxonomies or ontologies; the feasibility of using interoperability and fusion layers; and how these approaches could remain future-proof in light of evolving sensors and emerging sources of data; and finally how interoperable data can be fused to generate coherent situational awareness.
• Assess the quality and limitations of the situational awareness generated from these data sources. Determine the realistic contribution that private-sector monitoring and situational data can make to submarine-cable security by evaluating the spatial precision, timeliness, coverage, reliability and confidence that can be achieved when such data is combined within a Regional Cable Hub, while also identifying the technical, regulatory and commercial limitations that constrain the level of situational awareness attainable under different data-access and integration scenarios.
• Design and carry out pilot or proof-of-concept demonstrations (e.g. using sample datasets, synthetic data or sandbox integrations with selected providers) to test and validate key assumptions on data access, integration, interoperability and situational-awareness outputs, and to refine the practical feasibility of the proposed cooperation models.
• Produce a consolidated assessment of feasible partnership models between Regional Cable Hubs and private holders of cable-relevant monitoring and situational data, setting out the key commercial, contractual, technical and regulatory requirements for such arrangements, evaluate the extent to which they can enhance the situational awareness achievable for submarine-cable security, and identify gaps where further EU-level policy guidance, standardisation or supporting measures may be needed.