Inside the NATO Plan to Use Data in Space to Bypass Undersea Cables

A New Glenn rocket launches from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Jan. 16, 2025. The New Glenn rocket marked the first launch from Space Launch Complex 36 in 20 years. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Samuel Becker) Public domain

In an era where our digital lives are tethered to the ocean floor, NATO's latest initiative, aptly named HEIST (Hybrid Space/Submarine Architecture Ensuring Infosec of Telecommunications), is making waves—quite literally. This ambitious project aims to reroute internet traffic through satellites, sidestepping the increasingly precarious undersea cables that currently shoulder about 95% of global data transmissions. ​

For decades, undersea fiber optic cables have quietly done the heavy lifting of global communication. Stretching over 1.2 million kilometers—enough to circle the Earth nearly 30 times—these cables handle roughly 95% of international data traffic, connecting everything from Wall Street transactions to Netflix streams.

But what was once considered an indestructible and largely overlooked part of our infrastructure has now become an attractive target for adversaries.

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