The problem of sabotage of undersea cables was brought to the attention of UN ESCAP and the senior government officials who attended the ICT and DRR Committee meeting by LIRNEasia as far back as November 2010 (see slide 20). Now it’s headline news.
Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict.
The issue goes beyond old worries during the Cold War that the Russians would tap into the cables — a task American intelligence agencies also mastered decades ago. The alarm today is deeper: The ultimate Russian hack on the United States could involve severing the fiber-optic cables at some of their hardest-to-access locations to halt the instant communications on which the West’s governments, economies and citizens have grown dependent.
3 Comments
Kareem
Has there been any progress on building a land based network of fibre optic cables connecting Asian countries to the internet?
Rohan Samarajiva
http://www.unescap.org/our-work/ict-disaster-risk-reduction/asia-pacific-information-superhighway
Rohan Samarajiva
Of interest: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/we-asked-an-expert-what-would-happen-if-russia-cut-the-pipeline-to-the-internet?utm_source=vicetwitteruk
Launch of the FutureWORKS Collective at an inception workshop in Negombo
The FutureWORKS Collective was officially launched at an inception workshop organised by the JustJobs Network on March 6-9, 2024 in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The workshop was the first in-person convening of the five regional hubs that will form the Global South research network.
LIRNEasia is hiring – Finance Officer
LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Finance Officer. The full job description is available here.
LIRNEasia study seeks solutions for adolescents vulnerable to information disorder
In response to the alarming surge of information disorder affecting online platforms, LIRNEasia is exploring to provide evidence-based recommendations to policymakers on how best to equip Sri Lankan early adolescence with skills to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. This is through a two-year research project on digital literacy among Sri Lankan adolescents aged 11 to 18.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
12, Balcombe Place, Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2024 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific