A few United States Military officials are uneasy about increased activity from Russian ships near undersea data cables, according to the New York Times.
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“It would be a concern to hear any country was tampering with communication cables; however, due to the classified nature of submarine operations, we do not discuss specifics”, said Washington Navy spokesman Cmdr.
Relations between the USA and Russian Federation have reached their lowest levels since the end of the Cold War in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and recent allegations that Russian Federation targeted U.S.-backed rebels in airstrikes in Syria. While the locations of numerous cables in questions are no secret, a few have been secretly laid by the USA military. and it’s these cables that US officials are likely most anxious about.
There is no evidence of cable cutting yet, but the concerns appear to reflect increased wariness among USA and allied officials over Russia’s increased military activity around the world. The cables carry more than $10 trillion a day in global business, including from financial institutions that settle their transactions on them every second.
According to The Times, the USA last month U.S. closely monitored the Russian spy ship Yantar, which equipped with two self-propelled deep-sea submersible craft, cruised off the US East Coast toward Cuba, where one cable landed near the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay. They were allegedly especially wary of Russian submarines severing underwater data cables. While he says “cables get cut all the time-by anchors that are dragged, by natural disasters”, these breaks usually occur close to shore and repairs take just a few days.
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Michael Sechrist, a researcher who has studied the security of undersea cables, said: “The risk here is that any country could cause damage to the system and do it in a way that is completely covert, without having a warship with a cable-cutting equipment right in the area”.
