Houthis attack underwater communication cables
Houthis is a separatist group that controls part of Yemen’s territory. They have been known to launch attacks on merchant ships, and now it has been revealed that they have attacked underwater communications cables in the Red Sea. According to “Globes”, four such cables were damaged between Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in East Africa.
Damage to communication cables
According to the publication, the cables of AAE-1, Seacom, EIG and TGN companies are damaged. Because of this, the Internet connection between Europe and Asia is seriously disrupted, with the Persian Gulf countries being the most severely affected. It is estimated that the damage caused by damage to the communication infrastructure is significant, but not critical, as other cables connecting Asia, Africa and Europe pass through this region, which were not affected.
Implications for telecommunications companies
The restoration of such a large number of underwater cables may take at least eight weeks according to preliminary estimates and is associated with a risk from the Houthi terrorist organization. Telecommunications service providers will be forced to look for companies that will agree to perform the restoration work and probably pay them a high insurance premium.
Affected cables
One of the damaged cables is the EIG (European India Gateway), which connects Southern Europe to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates and India. Another cable, TGN Atlantic, was laid by the American company Tyco International in 2001 and sold to the Indian company Tata Communications in 2005 for $ 130 million. Another damaged cable is the AAE – 1, which links East Asia to Europe via Egypt. The cable has a capacity of 40 terabytes per second and passes through the countries of the Sino – Iranian axis, including Pakistan and Qatar.
Conclusions
The Houthi attack on underwater communication cables in the Red Sea has caused serious problems in Internet communication between Europe and Asia. Four cables were damaged, causing major disruption to telecommunications services in the Gulf region and India. Cable restoration can take several weeks, and telecommunications companies are forced to look for solutions to complete the work and restore communication.
This attack shows that both the Houthis themselves and Iran, which supports them, possess weapons and technologies capable of damaging underwater cables. They have little interest in the importance of the safety of underwater communication infrastructures or environmental disasters.
Service providers should take appropriate measures to ensure the security of their networks and protect them from possible threats.
“The Houthi attack on underwater communication cables in the Red Sea has caused serious problems in Internet communication between Europe and Asia.” – Globes
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