Ruptures call safety of Internet cables into question

Here’s something to ponder: if a country loses access to the internet, what happens?

Four undersea communication cables have been cut in the past week, raising questions about the safety of the oceanic network that handles the bulk of the world’s Internet and telephone traffic.

Most telecommunications experts and cable operators say that sabotage seems unlikely, but no one knows what damaged the cables or whether the incidents were related.

One theory - that a wayward ship traveling off course because of bad weather was responsible for cutting the first two cables last week - was dismissed by the Egyptian government over the weekend.

No ships passed the area in the Mediterranean where the cables were located, the country’s Ministry of Communications said Sunday.

“This has been an eye-opener for us, and everyone in the telecom industry worldwide,” said Colonel R.S. Parihar, the secretary of the Internet Service Providers Association of India. Herald Tribune