Privacy

January 27, 2026, 4:22 AM EST. Ten European countries, plus the European Commission, agreed in Hamburg to jointly bolster the security of critical infrastructure, including internet cables, energy pipelines and transformer platforms, and to conduct more North Sea military exercises to deter sabotage. The accord comes amid concerns about Russian activity, after a spy ship shadowed a transatlantic cable near Terschelling and accusations linking Russia to several cable incidents and the Nord Stream 2 explosion. Separately, nearly €10 billion will be invested in offshore wind farms to reach 100 GW of capacity by 2050, reducing reliance on Russian gas. The plan also covers cross-border electricity cables and transformer platforms, improving load balancing and potentially easing backup demand. Disruptions could spike latency and service outages if networks are sabotaged.