Australia is developing a backup plan to keep its financial system running if subsea data cables are damaged. Executives from National Australia Bank and other institutions simulated a scenario where cables on the east and west coasts were cut. The teams found that satellite communications could only transmit a tiny fraction of the data needed.
Repair ships and crews are effective, but delays in obtaining permits—especially from Indonesia—can stretch beyond a month. The exercise showed that Australia needed a plan to operate offline. Major banks, together with the government, are developing a system that would allow customers to pay for groceries and withdraw cash from ATMs, even without access to international bank-clearing systems.
The government has launched CI Fortify, a guide for infrastructure operators to isolate their networks for up to three months. Finland is making similar advances, and Sweden’s central bank is working with retail banks to enable card payments for up to seven days during disruptions. Australian leaders are aware of China’s growing submarine fleet and the mysterious visits of Chinese research vessels to nearby waters.
In August, Vietnam faced a major subsea-cable crisis when four of its eight major cables were damaged.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing