Why are the "lifelines" of the digital world often under attack?

The immense strategic value of submarine cables has made them potential targets for attacks.

An underwater cable was installed in La Seyne-sur-Mer, southern France, in 2016 - Photo: AFP

Sweden and Finland have recently launched investigations into suspected sabotage following damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea last weekend.

Global data and communication systems rely on massive bundles of fiber optic cables lying deep beneath the ocean floor.

The essential role of submarine cables

Underwater cables transport all kinds of data between continents, from live video streaming and financial transactions to diplomatic information and critical intelligence data. According to a recent report from the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), underwater telecommunications cables play a vital role in maintaining global connectivity.

"The volume of data transmitted via submarine cables far exceeds the capacity of satellites, including the SpaceX network owned by billionaire Elon Musk," said Eric Lavault, a French naval officer who previously oversaw seabed monitoring.

Currently, there are approximately 450 active submarine cables worldwide , spanning a total of about 1.2 million kilometers. CSIS estimates that these cables handle up to 98% of global digital data.

Most countries with coastlines possess at least one underwater cable. However, there are rare areas such as Eritrea, North Korea, and Antarctica that have absolutely no underwater cable connections.

Despite their immense strategic value, submarine cables are primarily built, owned, operated, and maintained by private companies.

According to CSIS, the three largest companies, SubCom (USA), ASN (France), and NEC (Japan), accounted for 87% of the market in 2021, while China contributed 11% through HMN.

In addition, tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have also begun developing their own undersea cable systems, viewing this as a "huge economic advantage."

"The bandwidth demands of these cable routes will continue to increase, especially with the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which can only thrive thanks to the massive amount of data that humans provide," Lavault stated.

Underwater cables frequently encounter problems, such as seabed erosion, tsunamis, ships anchoring in the wrong places, and even sabotage - Photo: AFP

Risk

Although cable lines frequently experience problems, such as seabed erosion, tsunamis, or ships anchoring in the wrong places, in 80% of cases the cause is not intentional. Nevertheless, deliberate acts of sabotage or espionage are not uncommon.

In 2022, then-French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly warned that underwater cables could become targets for forces seeking to monitor or sabotage this critical infrastructure.

According to reports from Denmark, between 2012 and 2014, the country's undersea cable network was intercepted, collecting information from four countries: Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France, including communications of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Data is now an extremely important commodity. Forces can attack essential new interests like the Internet, creating direct impacts on society and the economy," Lavault emphasized.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-mach-mau-cua-the-gioi-so-thuong-bi-tan-cong-20241121201331834.htm