Not every country with nuclear weapons has a direct leader or military communication line with every other country with nuclear weapons. Additionally, there are no multilateral hotlines between states with nuclear weapons. Unlike the Cold War when security concerns were largely focused on one bilateral conflictual dyad, 21st century challenges are increasingly complex with multiple strategic competitors. CATALINK is an additive measure, not meant to replace existing hotlines but to add other resilient options for leaders to communicate before, during, and after a conflict or nuclear war.

Existing hotlines may be vulnerable to kinetic threats, such as environmental degradation or destruction during conflict, or non-kinetic threats such as cyber attacks and electronic warfare. New technological developments that could further destabilize communications (e.g. AI-generated audio and video) must also now be taken into account when thinking of how to improve resiliency, especially in a degraded security environment where miscommunication and misperceptions can flourish.