How vulnerable are undersea cables to attack?

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U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves – over internet cables​

It started out as strictly business: a huge private contract for one of the world’s most advanced undersea fiber-optic cables. It became a trophy in a growing proxy war between the United States and China over technologies that could determine who achieves economic and military dominance for decades to come.

In February, American subsea cable company SubCom LLC began laying a $600-million cable to transport data from Asia to Europe, via Africa and the Middle East, at super-fast speeds over 12,000 miles of fiber running along the seafloor.

That cable is known as South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6, or SeaMeWe-6 for short. It will connect a dozen countries as it snakes its way from Singapore to France, crossing three seas and the Indian Ocean on the way. It is slated to be finished in 2025.

It was a project that slipped through China’s fingers.

More:

www.reuters.com

U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves - over internet cables

The two superpowers are vying to control subsea cables, a hidden network that speeds internet data around the globe. This tech war is fueled by worries that spies are listening.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 

Can the Houthi Sever Global Underwater Cables off their Coast?​

Feb 7, 2024

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discussed reports that the Houthi may be planning to attack submarine cables carrying the world's internet and why it may not be possible. 9 minutes long.



- Submarine Cable Map https://www.submarinecablemap.com/
- Animated map reveals the 550,000 miles of cable hidden under the ocean that power the internet https://youtu.be/DKHZKTRyzeg?si=_o93W...
- Houthis could cut undersea global internet cables, minister warns https://www.businessinsider.com/houth...
- How Britain pioneered cable-cutting in World War One https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe...
 
WSJ

U.S. Fears Undersea Cables Are Vulnerable to Espionage From Chinese Repair Ships​

WASHINGTON—U.S. officials are privately delivering an unusual warning to telecommunications companies: Undersea cables that ferry internet traffic across the Pacific Ocean could be vulnerable to tampering by Chinese repair ships.

State Department officials said a state-controlled Chinese company that helps repair international cables, S.B. Submarine Systems, appeared to be hiding its vessels’ locations from radio and satellite tracking services, which the officials and others said defied easy explanation.

The warnings highlight an overlooked security risk to undersea fiber-optic cables, according to these officials: Silicon Valley giants, such as Google and Meta Platforms, partially own many cables and are investing in more. But they rely on specialized construction and repair companies, including some with foreign ownership that U.S. officials fear could endanger the security of commercial and military data.

The Biden administration’s focus on the repair ships is part of a wide-ranging effort to address China’s maritime activities in the western Pacific. Beijing has taken steps in recent decades to counter U.S. military power in the region, often by seeking ways to stymie the Pentagon’s communications and other technological advantages in case of a clash over Taiwan or another flashpoint, officials say.

More:

MSN

www.msn.com www.msn.com
 

To Secure Undersea Cables, Take Lessons from the British Empire’s All-Red Line​

The British Empire’s worldwide undersea cable telegraph system, known as the All-Red Line, was laid with vulnerabilities to attack from great power adversaries in mind.

July 2024

In the late 19th century, Alfred Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History: 1660–1783 made a case for the importance of naval power, including a strong merchant marine to shape world events and enable free trade. His arguments have stood the test of time, in part because he also considered the role of technology. For example, he wrote that the then-new technology of submarine telegraph cables altered strategy, at least with respect to blockade.1 As Brent Sadler notes in his insightful book U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century, Mahan’s work is especially relevant to modern supply chains, distributed manufacturing, and instantaneous global communications via undersea cables.2

More:

www.usni.org

To Secure Undersea Cables, Take Lessons from the British Empire’s All-Red Line

The United States can learn a lot from the British Empire’s worldwide undersea cable telegraph system.
www.usni.org www.usni.org
 

Is Russia Waging War Under the Seas?​

Jul 11, 2024

In 2021, a research cable off the coast of Norway was severed. It may have been accidentally snagged by a fishing vessel, but analysts allege it may be part of a wider pattern of Russian sabotage.


16:24
 

Finance should pay much more attention to undersea cables risk​

What is the greatest tail risk stalking global finance today? There is a depressingly long list of options: surging debt, volatile rates, geopolitical conflict and/or cyber failures like the one accidentally unleashed by CrowdStrike and Microsoft. But there is another deserving far more debate: underwater sea cables.

More:

 

Baltic Sea cables: Does the trail lead to China? | DW News​

Nov 20, 2024 #balticsea #germany #internet

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has described the severing of two fiber-optic cables under the Baltic Sea as an act of sabotage. According to media reports, the Danish navy was shadowing a Chinese cargo ship that left the Baltic after the telecommunications cables were cut. Pistorius says the damage appeared deliberate and could represent an act of hybrid warfare.
We speak to Kadri Liik from the European Council on Foreign Relations about who might benefit if this were an act of sabotage.


7:43
 
Edited post due to revised episode.

Chinese Bulk Carrier Yi Peng 3 Departing Russia is Accused of Severing Two Baltic Submarine Cables​

Nov 22, 2024 #batlic #yipeng3 #cablecutting

🚨REVISED EPISODE - New Section at 17:35 to 19:38🚨

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano—a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner—discusses the voyage of MV Yi Peng 3 from Russia through the Baltic and the potential for the ship to have severed the C-Lion1 and BCS East-West submarine cable.


24:49

00:00 Background
07:37 Yi Peng AIS/Track Replay
21:23 Conclusion

- Marine Traffic marinetraffic.com
- Russia Suspected as Baltic Undersea Cables Cut in Apparent Sabotage https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/russ...
- Chinese vessel spotted where Baltic Sea cables were severed https://www.ft.com/content/383516a5-0...
- Sabotage Suspicions: Sweden’s Navy Investigates Baltic Sea Cable Damage https://gcaptain.com/sabotage-suspici...
- Accident or sabotage? American and European officials disagree as key undersea cables are cut https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/wo...
- Submarine Cable Map https://www.submarinecablemap.com/

- NewNew Polar Bear Had an Anchor Fall Off | Finland-Estonia Gas and Telecommunication Cables Severed
by What is Going on With Shipping?
 
Last edited:
Hard to imagine that dragging an anchor for 100 miles wasn't intentional.
 
This is a story about land cables and not suspected of sabotage, but it didn't warrant a separate thread:

Finnish police said Tuesday that “there is no reason to suspect any criminal activity” in connection with damage to two data cables running across the land border between Sweden and Finland, saying the damage was created by excavation work.

The two cables were repaired Tuesday, a day after they were damaged, affecting 6,000 private customers and 100 businesses, a company providing digital infrastructure and data communication in Northern Europe said.

Global Connect said the internet cables were damaged in two separate places in southern Finland on Monday.

The first fiber breakage happened on Monday morning, the other one in the afternoon.
...
Finland’s minister of transportation and communications, Lulu Ranne, wrote on X that “authorities are investigating the matter together with the company. We take the situation seriously.”

However, on Tuesday afternoon, police in Finland put out a statement saying they had investigated both incidents and that “there is no suspicion of any criminal offense in either case, as the damages were caused by excavation work.”

Police added they would not initiate a criminal investigation into either case.
...
Click to expand...

apnews.com

Finnish police don't suspect criminal activity regarding damaged data cables in south of country

Finnish police says they do not suspect any criminal activity in connection with damage to two data cables running across the land border between Sweden and Finland.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
^^ Lol. Zuck just doesn't want to concede anything to Musk (Starlink).
 

China lets Sweden, Finland, Germany and Denmark board ship in cable breach case​

  • Vessel wanted in Sweden after Baltic Sea cable breaches
  • Chinese authorities conducting investigation on Thursday
  • Swedish police participate as observers
  • Representatives from Denmark, Finland, Germany also on board
  • Boarding facilitated by Danish authorities
COPENHAGEN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - China has allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board a Chinese bulk carrier at the centre of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, the Danish foreign minister said on Thursday.

The Yi Peng 3 vessel is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fibre-optic cables in November, and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed the matter.

More:

 
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