Internet blackouts fears after alleged attacks on undersea cables
NATO military chiefs have warned of an internet blackout, after a series of suspected attacks from Russia on subsea cables. Vodafone, O2 owner Telefonica, and Orange are among the telecoms firms that have written to British, EU, and NATO officials, warning that an increase in sabotage incidents would put crucial services in danger.
“The repercussions of damage to subsea cables extend far beyond Europe, potentially affecting global internet and power infrastructure, international communications, financial transactions and critical services worldwide,” they wrote in an open letter.
This comes following a spike in incidents involving fibre optic cables on the seabed. These cables carry immense volumes of data, voice, and internet traffic between different countries. Over 500 cables carry around 95% of international data. Their remote locations make them both difficult as well as expensive to maintain and monitor.
At least 11 cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea since October 2023. The North Sea has reported similar outages. These incidents have led to concerns about sabotage from hostile actors. Over 50 Russian ships have been observed in areas with a high cable density in the Baltic Sea. The UK has been monitoring one Russian spy ship, Yantar, following fears that it has been mapping critical underwater infrastructure.
Chinese sabotage has also been a concern after several incidents near Taiwan.
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