The security of nearly 1 billion people in Europe and North America is at risk due to Russia's attempts to find vulnerabilities in underwater infrastructure, wind farms, pipelines and power cables. This was stated by one of NATO's commanders, Didier Maleterre, The Guardian reports.

According to him, the network of underwater cables and pipes, on which energy supply and communications in Europe depend, is vulnerable to a "hybrid warfare" that is "conducted by Russia and other NATO adversaries."

The admiral believes that the Russians have developed many means for undersea hybrid warfare to undermine the European economy by blowing up cables and pipelines.

"And to be very clear: we are aware of Russian developments in nuclear submarines for underwater operations. Our entire economy underwater is under threat. So we are not naive, and we (NATO countries) are working together," the deputy commander said.

Maleterre said the situation has changed dramatically since much of the current underwater infrastructure was first developed by the private sector, making it extremely vulnerable.

"They (the companies responsible) didn't know that this hybrid warfare would develop so quickly. More than 90% (of internet cables) are underwater. All our connections between the US, Canada and Europe are underwater, so there are many vulnerabilities," he added.

The North Atlantic Alliance is unable to protect every piece of underwater infrastructure, Maleterre emphasized, and the main responsibility for protecting their infrastructure lies with the countries themselves.

"We know that there are many vulnerabilities. When it comes to maritime objects, the responsibility lies primarily with the states. We are now paying special attention to the Russians, but it is very difficult to conduct constant surveillance of every cable, it is impossible. Many countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark - have developed drones and sensors to be able to detect anything suspicious very quickly," he explained.

Amid growing concerns about underwater security, NATO countries are creating a center dedicated to this issue. Using artificial intelligence software, NATO's Allied Maritime Command can detect and track suspicious activity at sea, such as when ships disable their automatic identification system so they cannot be tracked or when they are in a certain area. The Alliance also uses satellites to detect suspicious activity.

"If the Russians are using a very powerful capability - I can't go into details, but we're talking about submarines and nuclear submarines - it's very, very difficult, very difficult," Maleterre added.