SUMMARY

In November 2024, the Institute for Security and Technology (IST) hosted a technical workshop in Washington, DC, that brought together participants from diverse fields to discuss potential avenues for improving the resilience of crisis communications networks used by military leaders and heads of state to prevent or de-escalate nuclear crises or conflicts. Discussions throughout the day focused on identifying technical vulnerabilities to existing communication networks, making policy recommendations to enhance trust and interoperability, and exploring the potential of integrating mesh and satellite-based networks into the design of IST’s CATALINK project—a secure, resilient international communications solution designed to ensure crisis communication between nuclear powers. The workshop was held under the Chatham House Rule, and consequently, this report does not attribute any part of the summary to specific individuals or organizations. IST is grateful for the political and financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs that makes this work possible.

Critical takeaways from the workshop included: 

1. IST should engage with the international technical community from Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Weapons States (NNWS), including Russia and China, to build trust and incorporate their technical feedback into the CATALINK and ROCCS network blueprints.
2. IST should explore the feasibility of integrating orbital-based mesh networks, such as the Starlink satellite constellations (only as an example, not suggesting the use of Starlink for the ROCCS network), into a secure communication infrastructure for crisis scenarios where conditions on the ground may be degraded.