U.S. Emergency Communications Are Vulnerable
Communication has become another arena of great power competition, and the United States must harden networks against all kinds of attacks, from kinetic strikes to cyber sabotage.
by Richard Weitz
Last Thursday’s abrupt collapse of the AT&T cell network, along with recent news reports of Russian nuclear attack weapons in space, underscore threats to satellite, cellular, and cyber networks. Americans must take urgent measures to protect emergency communications as a national security imperative.
Millions of Americans throughout the country lost cellular signals on February 22. Though the blackout lasted only one day, the incident should be a wake-up call for policymakers to make the U.S. telecommunications architecture more resilient. Wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters have repeatedly toppled cell towers and disrupted internet service that our first responders and emergency management officials depend on to broadcast urgent messages.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/techland-when-great-power-competition-meets-digital-world/us-emergency-communications-are
