Russia’s Scariest New Threat Is Underwater, Not in Space
A UK study of undersea cables shows that the global network carrying almost all internet and financial traffic is highly vulnerable to sabotage.
Going deep
Photographer: Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images
Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, warns that the US is “sleepwalking into an international crisis” by ignoring Russia’s intent to put nuclear weapons in space and use an electro-magnetic pulse to disable the constellation of satellites that underpins our intelligence, navigation and warfighting capabilities. He is right to be concerned that this capability — although not in place yet — is a serious challenge for the West. But there is an even more vulnerable Achilles’ heel that threatens global commerce, worldwide military readiness and logistics, and the internet itself: the highly vulnerable complex of undersea cables that provide the backbone of the world’s connectivity.
How big is the threat to undersea cables, and what should we be doing about it?