Broadband Operators Call on UK Gov to Help STOP Physical Network Attacks

A group of full fibre broadband operators, which are being led by alternative network providers Ogi and Vorboss, have today called on the UK Government and Ofcom to urgently help tackle a recent rise in attacks – often committed by criminal gangs and vandals – against vital national telecoms infrastructure and the engineers who build it.

Regular ISPreview readers will already be aware that, over the past few years, there has been somewhat of an increase in physical attacks against UK broadband and mobile networks, as well as the engineers responsible for building and maintaining them. Such attacks don’t just cause costly physical damage but can also leave local homes and businesses disconnected, often for a protracted period, from vital communication services.

Some of the most recent examples include a “targeted attack” against Ogi’s full fibre (FTTP) network in Wales that left customers disconnected (here), as well as a similar attack against Netomnia’s (YouFibre) network in Liverpool (here) and a smaller incident against Pine Media’s network in Sheffield (here). In addition, MS3 recently had some of their poles cut down by chainsaws in East Yorkshire (here).

Quite why people do this isn’t always clear. Most such incidents are often considered to be vandalism, although in some cases it can relate to the criminal theft of valuable network equipment (e.g. batteries or old copper telecoms cables) or form part of a protest. For example, the hate whipped up by anti-pole protestors in parts of Hull seemed to encourage recent damage to MS3’s network.

During the COVID-19 pandemic there were also multiple attacks committed against both fixed and mobile networks, as well as direct assaults against engineers, which was fuelled by some bizarre and utterly preposterous conspiracy theories (e.g. the belief that COVID-19 was being spread or created by 5G mobile signals – fact check).

Network operators want action

The good news is that some of those responsible for causing a few of the more historic incidents (e.g. cable thefts and mast damage) have in the past been arrested, and a few were even sent to jail. But there remains a general feeling that many of those who commit such acts often get away with it, and that network operators aren’t being given enough support.

Strictly speaking, telecoms networks, many of which could be classed as part of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), should technically already be protected by tough laws. But clearly the existing rules and punishments don’t seem to be acting as an effective deterrent, and the industry is now calling for serious change.

Ben Allwright, Ogi’s CEO, said:

“Working with the UK and devolved governments now means we can make sure this infrastructure – feeding our homes, businesses and critical public services – is backed by laws that are fit for purpose; deterring those who aim to sabotage the connectivity we increasingly lean on for our working, social, and day-to-day lives.

Now is the time for us to get around the table to make sure this vital infrastructure has the protection it needs.”

Vorboss CEO, Tim Creswick, said:

“Change is needed to protect the country’s digital infrastructure. We’ve raised these concerns after a series of attacks on telecoms networks. Resilience of digital connectivity should be a critical priority, and DSIT and Ofcom have the responsibility to affect these important changes. A review of current rules is desperately needed, from sentencing to policing to enforcing industry compliance.”

As part of this the two operators, which are being backed by a big chunk of the wider fibre industry, have jointly written an open letter to Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and Ofcom, which calls for a wide-ranging review of the security of the UK’s physical networks.

Specifically, the industry requests:

➤ Attacks on critical digital infrastructure to carry tougher sentences and fines to act as a deterrent. The severity of the penalties should reflect the potential risks to life and the critical role that full fibre plays in keeping our communities connected and safe.

➤ Direction from Government to ensure police forces prioritise engagement with attacks on critical digital infrastructure, in line with their impact on communities and the economy.

➤ Strict enforcement of essential security compliance protocols by industry, specifically ensuring all network builders adhere to Openreach ‘whereabouts’ compliance.

The government would no doubt highlight that they’ve already made some progress by introducing the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 (summary), but this was arguably more focused on the security of the internal network connectivity and services themselves, rather than the punishment of those who physically attack such infrastructure.

In addition to the above, we separately think that both network operators and the police could generally do a better job of publicising when those responsible for committing such acts are arrested, charged and sentenced. The reason for this doesn’t just stem from our own journalistic curiosity, but also because showing the consequences of an act can help to discourage future offences.

However, we often find that network operators are reluctant to talk about even successful punishments in public, even after sentencing has taken place, and trying to get any kind of statistics out of them is a particularly tricky task. The problem here is that criminal activity often thrives in the shadows.

Equally, it should be said that not all such infrastructure is perhaps as well secured by the network operators themselves as it could be, although there are often some practical and cost limitations to what is possible on this front – particularly at sites of shared infrastructure access.

A DSIT (gov) spokesperson told ISPreview:

“We have one of the toughest telecoms security regimes in the world and we continue to work closely with relevant organisations to identify risks and ensure the security and resilience of our telecoms network infrastructure.

We have engaged with providers and relevant authorities to understand these concerns and identify whether there is support Government can provide to safeguard networks and ensure that services can operate without disruption. Any case of suspected criminal damage to telecoms infrastructure should be reported to the police to investigate.”

The letter itself, which we’ve pasted in full below, is co-signed by senior leadership figures from AllPoints Fibre, County Broadband, Glide, Airband, Broadband for Surrey, GoFibre, Freedom Fibre, MS3, Zayo Group UK, B4RN, Community Fibre and INCA.

The letter also touches on the thorny issue of poor “whereabouts compliance” on Openreach’s network, which is something we’ve recently covered in a lot more detail (here) and that helps to give the related statements below some context. This reflects a “mandatory requirement” for related contractors to record their “whereabouts” when working on or in Openreach’s network. But it is ultimately a commercial decision for Openreach to decide how it enforces the contracts they have with other operators, and any competition issues that might arise from this would be a matter for Ofcom.

Katie Milligan, CCO at Openreach, told ISPreview:

“As the largest network in the UK with the highest regulated service standards to uphold, nobody suffers more from poor ‘whereabouts’ compliance than Openreach and no-one’s keener to improve it.

We’re continuing to work closely with the industry and Ofcom to make sure that work is recorded properly and completed safely and securely. We’ve been doing this in a very collaborative way and, whilst we do have options for stricter enforcement if that’s needed, we’d prefer not to have to enforce contractual penalties. Right now, no company using our network is 100% compliant, so everyone has work to do to improve.

It’s also important to emphasise that compliance isn’t a silver bullet to prevent damage and security issues. It can help of course, but it doesn’t account for malicious acts or provide conclusive proof of causes.”

While DSIT, as the Lead Government Department for Telecoms, does have a responsibility for security and resilience at the national level, the government highlights that individual infrastructure owners and operators are ultimately responsible for their own security and resilience measures. In other words, the solution for at least some of the highlighted issues (e.g. whereabouts compliance) might be found via an industry-led approach.

Copy of Letter to DSIT/Ofcom

04.03.2024

Michelle Donelan MP
Secretary of State
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ

CC:
Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure;
Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom;
Lindsey Fussell, Networks and Communications Group Director, Ofcom

Subject: Request for review of physical security of UK fibre infrastructure

Dear Secretary of State,

We are writing as representatives of our industry to bring to your attention the increasing number of incidents of intentional damage to full fibre broadband infrastructure across the country. In doing so, we propose that DSIT reviews current rules that safeguard these network assets. Specifically, we propose a review of:

– police engagement with these incidents;
– criminal punishment for such malicious attacks;
– industry compliance with current security rules.

Recent deliberate attacks on full fibre networks in Liverpool, London, Pembrokeshire and Sheffield highlight the need to better protect the UK’s digital connectivity and the public services, businesses, and households it serves.

As you know, fibre optic networks are the critical digital backbone underpinning our economy. Our homes, businesses, hospitals, financial institutions, public services and more, are connected through fixed fibre assets.

Any malicious disruption to these services poses significant risks to both public safety and economic activity.

In rural areas, a loss of connectivity can mean residents lose access to landline and lifeline connectivity during emergencies. This risk is exacerbated where mobile telephone options are limited or non-existent.

Meanwhile in urban centres, a loss of connectivity for business and public sector sites can be catastrophic. Even a brief outage can inhibit businesses economic activity and public service provision. To address this growing concern, we – network builders and service providers across the telecommunications industry – urge the government to review current rules that concern the protection of this infrastructure.

Police interaction with these incidents should be reviewed to better reflect the severity of the damage and harm these attacks can cause.

Intentional damage to fibre infrastructure should also be categorised as a criminal offense distinct from ordinary criminal damage in line, perhaps, with protections afforded to other similar core communications infrastructure such as PSTN and the postal service.

The severity of the penalties should reflect the potential risks to life and the critical role that full fibre plays in keeping our communities and economy connected and safe.

Specifically, we propose that perpetrators of such acts face the threat of lengthy prison terms and appropriate fines. By asking for such severe consequences, we hope to deter individuals from engaging in activities that puts lives at risk and compromises the connectivity that we all increasingly rely on.

In addition, both Ofcom and our industry as a whole have a role to play to improve security and resilience. To protect the integrity of our networks, we must ensure that we know who is accessing our critical infrastructure, especially where we are sharing physical assets. There must then be strict enforcement of ‘whereabouts compliance’, a contractual obligation requiring all network operators and anyone acting on their behalf to register their activity when using physical networks.

Currently, industry compliance is low and falling. This trend must be reversed. Ensuring that industry complies with these low-cost requirements of pre-registering when they are accessing the Openreach network, means we can more easily identify if an outage on our networks is due to criminal activity or unintentional damage. To be effective, every time someone enters or accesses that shared network, it must be logged. This is a necessary first step to identifying if unauthorised personnel are accessing our networks.

Whilst Openreach already has the contractual mandate to do this, it is also in competition with the network operators that use its ducts and poles. Its position is then potentially conflicted. If it cannot meaningfully enforce high ‘whereabouts’ compliance standards, Ofcom should step in and oversee measures to improve co-ordination of compliance rates.

If the current trend of damage and attacks persists, the consequences will extend beyond the immediate outages and economic impact. Private companies investing in full fibre infrastructure may withdraw, financial institutions could lose faith and cease investing in the sector, and communities could find themselves left behind in the digital age once again, with the socioeconomic consequences almost immeasurable if that happens.

We are then calling on DSIT and partner organisations to explore the above recommendations.

Your leadership in championing these changes will not only protect our communities and the UK economy, but also send a clear message to current and potential perpetrators that intentional damage to such essential services will not be tolerated.

Sincerely,

[signed by all of the aformentioned operators]