Can Russia cripple America's Internet access?

No, Russian Submarines Won’t Cripple America’s Internet Access

Growing US concerns that Russia might try to cripple internet communications by attacking fiber optic cables in the Atlantic Ocean that connect America to the global internet are likely misplaced, suggests Louise Matsakis for Wired. Even if it did, “the consequences would likely be less severe than the picture the US military paints.”

“For one, ruptures aren’t exactly an anomaly. One of the estimated 428 undersea cables worldwide is damaged every couple of days. Nearly all faults aren’t intentional. They’re caused by underwater earthquakes, rock slides, anchors, and boats. That’s not to say that humans are incapable of purposefully messing with the cables; off the coast of Vietnam in 2007, fishermen pulled up 27 miles of fiber cords, disrupting service for several months. (It wasn't cut off completely, because the country had one more cable that kept the internet going),” Matsakis writes.

“That means Russia snipping a handful of cables in the Atlantic, where its submarines have been spotted, would disturb the global internet very little. In fact, even if it ruptured every single cable in the Atlantic Ocean, traffic could still be re-routed the other way, across the Pacific.”

“That’s not to say that the world’s undersea cables aren’t at risk, or that they don’t need protection—especially in areas of the world with less internet infrastructure, like Africa and some parts of Southeast Asia. When a fault happens there, the consequences can be more severe, including genuine internet disruption.”

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