A long time ago, the British government asked RAND Europe, a research institute, to research the underwater infrastructure, followed by a series of wire-cux`tting events in the Baltic Sea and the Red Sea that led to the loss of internet for months.
Russian spies and their proxies have already attacked Ukraine, targeting the water cables and striking American military bases in Germany. However, it’s hard to distinguish whether the damage is an accident or sabotage.
The reasons to suspect Russia are pretty valid, as Russia has been heavily investing in naval capabilities through CUGI, which can be used to damage underwater cables. NATO intelligence has also warned the authorities of Russia’s suspicious behavior.
A report published in February by a research institute claimed that there have been eight “unattributed yet suspicious” cable-cutting events and 70 recorded sightings of Russian vessels around the critical infrastructure.
These worries are not limited to only Europe, American strategists also worry about Chinese threats to the Asian cables.
In February 202 a Chinese cargo ship and a Chinese vessel were suspected of cutting the two wires on Mats which led to internet loss for months. A pair of historians have also expressed that “the best way for China to bring down the US drone fleet would be to attack submarine cables.”
As China plays a big role in the cable spree through HMN technologies, America has banned the involvement of HMN to prevent any suspicious activities. America has created allies with other countries to slow down the cable efforts of China.
To address these issues, Western governments have adopted a series of defense measures, such as increasing the air and naval patrols near the prime infrastructure, creating a new network, employing a huge scale of sensors to identify threats, etc.
