There is a "persistent and significant risk" that Russia might target critical energy and technical infrastructure in an effort to "disrupt western life and gain leverage against those nations that are providing support to Ukraine", Nato assistant secretary general for intelligence and security David Cattler said.
Russia has realised that "being able to threaten the security of our information, energy and financial systems is a huge strategic advantage", and consequently is "actively mapping allied critical infrastructure both on land and on the seabed", Cattler said. Russian military strategy also calls for the rapid destruction of critical infrastructure in the early stages of a conflict, and this certainly includes undersea infrastructure, he said.
While Russia is the main threat Nato is concerned with regarding threat to underwater infrastructure, China is another "significant actor on the seabed", and is modernising its military and navy at an "alarming pace", Cattler said.
That said, the challenge posed by China is different because it is actively involved in buying and developing undersea infrastructure of its own, rather than testing the vulnerabilities of other nations' infrastructure, he acknowledged.
There is also a "persistent threat" posed by terrorist groups that could potentially target terminals or landing points for energy pipelines and LNG, he added, emphasising that there is "really a holistic multi-spectrum, multi-domain threat set when it comes to critical infrastructure", which can only be addressed through close co-operation between the private sector, Nato and allied governance.
The perpetrator of attacks on both lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and one line of Nord Stream 2 in September last year has still not been determined, as investigations by Sweden, Denmark and Germany have so far reached no conclusions beyond identifying sabotage as the cause.
