Undersea Internet cables are critical infrastructure on which the world as we know it depends. In recent months, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased Russian vessel traffic has been detected near these large data cables, and there have been some unusual malfunctions on them that raise suspicions that they could be another target. .

Investigations into the Nord Stream gas pipeline incidents with four leaks at the same time in different locations confirm, if there was any doubt, that it was sabotage. The consequences associated with the war in Ukraine, and therefore Russia’s “energy war” against the West, as a pressure to leave Ukraine to its fate, are the main ones. Could submarine internet cables be sabotaged in the same way?

Submarine fiber optic cables are the backbone of the global telecommunications network. They are a much more robust and reliable solution than satellites in orbit, as they offer much higher latency and bandwidth performance. They are necessary to access the Internet and its services, on which today’s world is based, and they cover tens of thousands of kilometers across all the seabeds of the oceans and seas. Obviously, controlling them is key and at the same time almost impossible due to their numbers and the distance they travel.

Unusual faults in undersea internet cables

Last Friday, the BBC reported that the undersea cable that connects the Shetland Islands to the Scottish mainland had been cut, causing cuts to phone, broadband and mobile services. The incident comes on top of another last week when the one connecting the Faroe Islands and Shetland was damaged. It is not known whether this was a random problem, but the failures are piling up in a worrying sequence if, as some experts believe, they are related to the war in Ukraine.

Last week, disruptions in cables connecting Asia, Europe and the United States were detected in the south of France. The causes are also unknown, but the Minister of the French Armed Forces has already warned that submarine internet cables could be “the aim of nations in temptation is to destroy”. Before the war in Ukraine, the NATO Secretary General defined these cables as “critical infrastructure”because not only the internet but also financial markets and even military capabilities depend on them.

In Spain, the military surveillance system for territorial waters of the Center for Naval Operations, Surveillance and Maritime Actions (COVAM) has noted an increase in the activity of Russian “pescadatos” ships. They are spy ships disguised as fishing or scientific vessels whose purpose is to intercept the digital traffic passing through them to create a complete map of their route.

It should be noted that Spain has 8,000 kilometers of coastline. 80% of all foreign trade takes place in ports and 90% of foreign energy supplies are received. Its strategic location makes it a key maritime region for receiving transoceanic cables, plus 94% of cable internet traffic to and from Spain is underwater.

In addition to the thousands of dead and wounded, the war in Ukraine threatens the global economy and the recovery that has begun to emerge once we overcome the pandemic. Another problem is sabotage in critical infrastructure. If in the 21st century wars are not fought only on land, and cyberspace is a vital zone, then submarine Internet cables are an essential infrastructure that could easily become a target for Russia. The consequences of a digital outage or blackout are unpredictable in a world that depends on them.