The recent severing of subsea cables in the Baltic Sea has raised alarms over potential acts of sabotage, further straining geopolitical tensions.
These cables are vital to cross-border internet connectivity and global communications, making them strategic targets in modern conflicts, according to CNBC.
The incidents are particularly concerning amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, as they align with fears of “hybrid warfare.”
Hybrid warfarea is a blend of conventional military actions, cyberattacks, and infrastructure sabotage.
Western nations are warning that such acts could signal broader attempts to disrupt critical infrastructure, amplifying the risks of escalation in the region.
These developments highlight the vulnerability of undersea cables and the need for enhanced international cooperation to protect this critical infrastructure.
The cutting of two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea last week, including the C-Lion1 cable linking Finland and Germany, has sparked significant security concerns.
The C-Lion1, owned by Finland’s state-controlled IT firm Cinia, is a critical communication link, spanning about 1,200 kilometers and serving as the sole direct connection between Finland and Central Europe.
The other cable damaged was one connecting Lithuania and Sweden, BCS East West Interlink.
Arelion, the company which owns it, said data traffic was rerouted to alternative links as it worked to repair the cable. Data traffic flowing through the cable is carried by Telia Lithuania.
In a statement Wednesday, Telia Lithuania said that the BCS East West Interlink cable had been “restored,” with traffic flows resuming. “This incident reminded us of the importance of not taking internet connectivity for granted,” Andrius Šemeškevičius, Telia’s chief technology officer, said in a statement.
This incident has intensified fears of sabotage amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The targeting of such vital infrastructure underscores the potential for hybrid warfare tactics, where critical assets like communication and energy systems become strategic vulnerabilities.
The event has prompted calls for enhanced monitoring and security measures to safeguard subsea communication networks, which are indispensable to global connectivity and economic stability.
Repairing subsea cables is no mean feat, according to Andy Champagne, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Akamai Labs.
“While we’re linked together with a complex physical web of fiber optic cables over land, the topology becomes more challenging once we plunge into the oceans,” he said. “It’s really complex to install subsea cables. And, when there is an issue with a subsea cable, repairing it is a non-trivial job.”
Subsea cables are vast fiber-optic networks laid along the ocean floor, enabling the transmission of data such as web pages, emails, and video calls across continents. They form the backbone of global internet infrastructure, handling 99% of intercontinental data traffic, making them indispensable to modern connectivity and international communications.
“Undersea cables are part of critical national infrastructure carrying telecommunications between nations and continents,” Martin Lee, EMEA lead at Cisco Talos, stated.
