January 21, 2025 – Over the last 3 years, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the German Federal Foreign Office (AA) have been critical partners to the Institute for Security and Technology’s Innovation and Catastrophic Risk team in reducing nuclear risks through the development and implementation of the CATALINK concept. IST is pleased to announce the generous continued financial and political support from the Swiss and German governments through 2027. Originating from a series of closed-door discussions on the challenges and opportunities that nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) modernization pose for crisis communications, CATALINK is IST’s blueprint for a secure, technically resilient multilateral global crisis communication system. Over the past four years, the CATALINK team along with partners around the globe have focused on building out technical prototypes, socializing baseline theoretical and technical analysis, identifying diplomatic specifications for systems requirements, assessing political feasibility and risk, and establishing a diplomatic implementation plan.
This foundational work has been crucial as the world faces escalating geopolitical tensions and an increased risk of nuclear conflict. Resilient crisis communications are an essential tool for pulling our civilization back from the nuclear brink, enabling leaders to pursue peaceful resolution before or after an incident has occurred. Despite this clear need, nuclear-armed states have yet to take the concrete risk-reduction actions needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Now, with this renewed support, the team will continue to advance the CATALINK concept in the coming years and work in tandem with both our Swiss and German partners to drive progress on launching a multi-pronged political outreach effort, convening influential stakeholders, and raising awareness of the CATALINK concept. On the technical side, the team will improve and advance the various technical elements of CATALINK as an additive, conceptual, resilient crisis communications system. This will include highlighting strategic points of vulnerability of current and future crisis communications systems, raising awareness of how emerging technologies could affect crisis communication platforms and their usability, and exploring pathways for protection and expansion of crisis communications as a risk reduction tool.
“The importance of nuclear risk reduction and crisis communications cannot be understated. At IST, we seek actionable solutions to reduce nuclear risks and advance strategies to prevent catastrophe. We are grateful to our Swiss and German partners for their continued support as we launch the next stages of the development of our CATALINK initiative. With this generous support, we will work to provide policymakers with the tools necessary to prevent the escalation of nuclear crises, and enable national leaders to communicate effectively and securely whenever necessary to avert the use of nuclear weapons,” IST CEO Philip Reiner said.
“Switzerland is proud to support the work of IST in addressing nuclear risk through innovative and practical solutions. IST’s conceptual and practical work on credible, crisis-proof tools for multilateral crisis prevention and management is truly remarkable. By developing a concept for fostering secure communication lines and actionable measures, IST sets a strong foundation for managing future crises effectively. We deeply appreciate IST’s commitment to reducing nuclear risks and look forward to seeing their impactful work continue to shape a safer world,” said Reto Wollenmann, Deputy Head Section Arms Control, Disarmament and Cybersecurity at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland.
“Reducing the risks of nuclear conflict is a matter of urgency in the current deteriorating security environment. The importance of nuclear risk reduction and crisis communications to our enduring interest in the prevention of nuclear war cannot be understated. Secure crisis communication is a linchpin in preventing nuclear catastrophe by ensuring clear, reliable, and protected channels for dialogue and decision-making. This is why Germany is honored to support IST’s groundbreaking efforts to address nuclear risks through innovative and pragmatic solutions. IST’s work on developing credible, resilient tools for multilateral crisis prevention and management is both visionary and essential. By advancing concepts like CATALINK on secure and reliable communication during crises IST is laying the groundwork for effective global crisis management, which will contribute to a safer and more stable world. We welcome and are thankful for IST’s dedication to reducing nuclear risks”, said Katrin Shimizu, Deputy Head of Division for Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control, and Non-Proliferation at the German Federal Foreign Office.
“States are focusing on building more sophisticated weapons systems, while there is still reliance on old nuclear crisis communication architectures. This asymmetric contrast reflects a major gap in existing crisis communications systems. With this generous support, we will be able to spotlight through research, gap analysis, and advocacy how emerging and disruptive technologies can render nuclear crisis communications channels increasingly vulnerable,” said Sylvia Mishra, CATALINK project lead and Deputy Director for Nuclear Policy.
“Nuclear-armed states have a responsibility to ensure that their political and military leaders have crisis-proof lines of communication to prevent and de-escalate conflict. I am grateful to our long-standing partners in Bern and Berlin not only for their financial support for the CATALINK project but also for several years of close cooperation to raise the profile of this issue in diplomatic fora. Renewed funding from Switzerland and Germany showcases how non-nuclear weapons states can play a pivotal role in animating the ideational thinking needed to reduce nuclear risks. We look forward to continuing to build a diverse community of policy-oriented, scientific, and technical experts to identify the components of what an ideal crisis communications architecture should look like in today’s world,” said Sahil Shah, CATALINK senior advisor.
“If a communications channel is not secure from outside interference, does not have redundancies built in to withstand damage to the network, or cannot be guaranteed to send a message from point to point at any time in any situational environment, then it is unreliable and will not be trusted to operate effectively during a crisis. With continued support, we can map the vast range of technical and environmental threats facing a multilateral nuclear crisis communications channel to understand and mitigate these vulnerabilities, building a blueprint for a reliable and secure CATALINK network,” said Christian Steins, CATALINK project member and Technology Policy Analyst.