Russia has substantial capability to spy and manipulate undersea internet cables through its submarines and this is alarming to America and other countries. The western world is highly dependent on the undersea internet cables for connectivity and operational efficiency. Without the internet, the present digital world seemingly collapses in a jiffy making a devastating impact on the global economy and functionality.
While the U.S. and other countries are highly dependent on the undersea cables, Russia is more sustainable with the highly equipped submarines that can help it operate seamlessly.
Concerns Over Russia’s Ability To Pry Undersea Internet Cables
Most recently, experts have shown concern about Russias capability to disturb and manipulate the undersea cables, especially the countries’ Navy submarines. They can meddle with the underwater cables, and there have been several incidents when things have been highlighted around this issue.
Experts Worry Over Russian Submarines
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As per Aaron Amick, an expert in Sonar technology, the Russian submarines can be hideous and cannot be detected. They have the power to attack and destroy the undersea internet cables as the Russians can reach the wires on the sea bed using the nuclear powered deep-diving submarines.
Spy Marines a Threat To Internet
The AGC, as called in Russian, is more like a spy submarine that can skid to reach the seabed and has some manipulator arms which can harm the cables. The subs can inspect, cut, and tap the fiber optic cables in a way that it may be challenging to repair them.
Host Submarines Patrol the Spy Marines
The small submarines reach the seabed with the help of the host submarine, which is considerable. Russia has two such submarines and is likely to begin trials of the third soon. The host submarine will mostly patrol on the minisubs and maintain a voice contact. The smaller spy sub stays in the seabed for many days and does the work.
Trivial To Protect Cables
In the wake of such trivial possibilities, NATO has seen a significant rise in the importance of protecting the military as well as civilian internet cables. Most recently in a talk, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Admiral James Foggo, the then Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe-Africa, has asked to include the submarine cables also in the same.
Not Regular Damage
The ship anchors often damage undersea cables, but this damage typically occurs in “not so deep” waters, which so can be repaired easily. However, the submarines can damage the cables in deep-sea, which can be potentially not fixed, making a gruesome impact on internet connectivity.