CNET: The newest Internet whodunnit? Who cut the cables?

[ursi]

Three undersea fiber-optic cables get cut in just one week, and the conspiracy crowd is already convinced this is the prelude to World War III--or at the very least, a United States bombing assault on Iran.

Truth be told, I'm not ready to dismiss their paranoia completely. Yes, they are nuts but they're not entirely crazy. Look, outside of a handful of Washington insiders, how many of you really thought after September 11 that we'd be in control of Iraq, come winter 2008?

The cable cuts knocked out Internet service in a good chunk of the Middle East and South Asia. (There are reports of a fourth cable out of service but so far that's unconfirmed.) What's behind the disruptions? Two of the cables are owned by Flag Telecom, the other by a consortium of telcos. At this point, the companies suggest the most likely culprit is Mother Nature.

In the absence of further details, that's as plausible an answer as any. But the official explanation has been drowned out by a more cynical take in the blogosphere and some regional news outlets.

more...

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9865263-7.html?tag=cd.blog

[lapfog_1]

1. It would take an awfully big storm to break

buried undersea telecom cables. Can happen, but it would be a BIG storm.

Now an earthquake in the area... that I could believe. All too often, IMHO, telecom carriers use the same access point to route the cables from land to sea bottom (across the shelf). This is to make the restricted area for fishing and anchoring as small as possible, so one event could sever multiple cables quite easily.

But none of the reports that I've seen indicate that there was an earthquake or really big storm in or around the time that the cables were cut or broke.

Withholding judgment until the repair ships arrive on seen and reliable reports are filed.

I understand that one ship is on scene of the north coast of Egypt, but I haven't heard what they found yet.

And it could be censored.

[DCKit]

3. No storms and, if it were an earthquake,...

it would have put the Indonesian tsunami to shame.

I too am awaiting a rational explanation, but four damaged cables in two days is odds that nobody would bet on.

[lapfog_1]

4. No, not really...

Where the cables drop from the shelf to the sea bottom (and in the Med, it isn't really all that deep, but there is a drop off), the cables could easily be severed by a small earthquake that shakes loose the shelf rocks. The rocks tumble down the slope and either catch on a lower rock or go all the way to the sea bed. Much like a landslide above ground. And where those rocks land, well you can imagine the impact force, and while the cables are buried on the bottom, they aren't buried all that deep... the burial is simply so that fishing trawlers with drag lines don't snag one.

Still, it would likely take a 4.0 quake or bigger to get a lot of rocks moving down the shelf.

And, if memory serves, the breaks didn't happen at the exact same time, but a few days apart.

Still, this is all idle speculation, if they don't censor the news, we should hear something soon from the first repair ship.

[samdogmom]

2. This is very scary and completely unbelievable!

How do cables get "cut"? (Especially only those in strategic positions!)?

Come on, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that this is an inside job somewhere. If the U.S. is involved, god help us! I'm totally stymied. (We're such asses if "we" (meaning the government and NOT the people) did it! And to those who suffered, I can only say "I'm so sorry. I didn't have a vote!")

[Demeter]

5. Greece Has Been Having Earthquakes

But that's on the other side of the Meditteranean...