Recent disruptions to undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea have raised concerns about possible Russian interference with global undersea infrastructure. The incidents involved a communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden, as well as a cable linking Finland and Germany.
The disruption of the Lithuania-Sweden cable was confirmed by Telia Lithuania, attributing the issue to physical damage to the fiber optic cable. Similarly, the Finnish-German cable was affected, with Cinia, the Finnish company operating the link, investigating the cause of the fault.
These disruptions come as Sweden and Finland updated their guidance to citizens on surviving war, distributing booklets with instructions for preparing for military conflicts, communications outages, and power cuts. Both countries joined NATO in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
The severed C-Lion cable, a vital link between Finland and Central Europe, has sparked concerns of potential sabotage and hybrid warfare. The US has warned of increased Russian military activity around undersea cables, with suspicions of intentional damage.
A repair vessel is on standby to address the C-Lion fault, with repair timelines typically ranging from five to 15 days for submarine cables. The importance of diversifying data flows across multiple cables to prevent overreliance on a single link has been highlighted.
While capacity has been restored for the Lithuania-Sweden cable, investigations and repairs are ongoing. Arelion, the Swedish telecommunications company operating the damaged link, is coordinating with military and civil authorities to address the issue.
As the situation unfolds, concerns about the security of undersea infrastructure persist, emphasizing the need for thorough investigations and heightened vigilance in safeguarding critical communication networks.
