The Strategic Threat Response & Infrastructure Knowledge Exchange (STRIKE), a new group aimed at combating vandalism against broadband infrastructure, will hold its first strategic meeting at TechExpo25 later this month in Washington, DC.
STRIKE is a joint effort of SCTE and NCTA – The Internet & Television Association. The press release announcing the STRIKE initiative said that broadband infrastructure is under unprecedented attacks. It said that 5,770 criminal acts of theft and vandalism against broadband infrastructure were documented from June to December of last year.
“A threat to broadband infrastructure is a threat to our national security,” Maria Popo, president and CEO of SCTE, said in a press release. “STRIKE ensures that executive-level visibility is directly connected to frontline realities. This coordinated approach is precisely what’s needed to tackle this emerging threat decisively.”
STRIKE has four core objectives to support broadband infrastructure, according to the press release:
- Spotlight broadband damage and destruction as a top-tier national security threat.
- Facilitate intelligence sharing to quickly identify and mitigate emerging threats.
- Integrate policy advocacy, technical standards and operational protocols into a cohesive national defense strategy.
- Establish clear, unified communication with government stakeholders.
The press release points out that many of the actions the group is confronting “go beyond mere acts of vandalism” and seek to disrupt “military bases, 911 services, fire and police departments, healthcare facilities, law enforcement, government services and agencies, and educational and financial institutions.”
An example of the type of activity STRIKE aims to combat occurred in June in Van Nuys, California, when several Charter fiber broadband lines were vandalized. Charter called the attacks on their fiber lines domestic terrorism to help promote legislation that would make such attacks a federal felony.
