Russian ships have been spotted recently stalking the path of underwater cables that carry internet service to and from the U.S. and other countries.
The ships spotted doing so potentially have the ability to sever these cables and thus disconnecting whomever Russia looks to attack, from the web. This would be an unprecedented cyber attack that could potentially be devastating for certain countries and the entire global economy – in a time of war.
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These cables are buried miles under the sea deep in international waters, and if severed could take weeks or months to find where the disconnect is.
Russia claims it is running tests on cutting itself off from the internet but the world isn’t buying it.
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From Extreme Tech:
US government sources have revealed to the New York Times growing concerns that Russian naval vessels may be threatening the global internet infrastructure. Russian ships have been seen tracing out the routes of the trans-oceanic cables that carry the vast majority of the world’s internet traffic around the world. Russian ships seem to be deliberately staying close enough to these cables to use their attached submersibles, which the US says could descend and sever the lines — or perhaps tap them. The sheer number of ships involved has been described by senior diplomats as comparable to the Cold War.
The issue stems from the fact that these ships seem to be threatening these deep-sea cables in the deep sea, as opposed to near shore where the vast majority of natural or accidental damage occurs. A piece of the internet backbone, severed miles undersea, could potentially take weeks or months to find and repair. Analysts did say that the ships could be trying to find the location of secret cables laid down, mostly the US, for military or other private uses. Ships don’t necessarily need to be anywhere near a deep sea cable to cut it, so in a way the cables are safest from Russian tampering while Russian ships still float directly above them.
What impact would this sort of attack have on our country? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
