A threat hangs over the submarine cables that connect Europe to the Internet. A cut would cause a blackout. This nightmarish scenario is envisaged by the armed forces, AFP reports.
According to the report, after 7 days of war between Russia and Ukraine, the threats are intensifying and the country’s allies of Kiev are on alert. In addition to a nuclear threat, that of an Internet “blackout” with the cutting of transatlantic submarine cables.
This threat is not taken lightly. In addition to disconnecting computers, smartphones, the servers through which financial and economic data pass would simply be cut off, the report stated.
And as Jean-Luc Vuillemin, Director of International Networks at Orange, recently recalled during an interview with La Tribune, in the event of a power cut, there would quite simply be no European Internet. And for good reason: 99% of the global network passes through these cables.
“The seabed is a new terrain of a balance of power that we must master in order to be ready to act, to defend ourselves and, if necessary, to take the initiative, or at least to retaliate”, underlined the Minister.
This scenario has been taken very seriously by European defence officials for several years, especially since Russian military ships are increasingly criss-crossing the Irish coasts through which these information highways pass.
A Russian spy ship
The fear is real. In August 2021, off the coast of Ireland, the Yantar, an “oceanographic” vessel which has an AS-37 type mini-submarine [Project 16810], was able to dive up to 6,000 meters deep. This Russian Navy spy ship followed the route of the Celtic Norse and AEConnect-1 undersea telecommunications cables that connect Ireland to the United States. It is through them that 97% of global communications and financial transactions pass.
In addition, in 2014, cable cuts attributed to Russia were committed during the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine takes this threat seriously. She asked Elon Musk to urgently deploy his Starlink internet satellite network over the country.
The boss of SpaceX responded in a few hours to deploy a backup solution if the big scissor kick took place.
In his “France 2030” investment plan announced in November 2021, Emmanuel Macron confirmed that deep-sea exploration is a priority. Two billion euros will be devoted over five years for this mission presented as important as space but just as complicated.