The U.S. is now increasingly concerned that Russia could crash the Internet by cutting underwater cables in the event of a diplomatic crisis. This news came after U.S. spies reported suspicious Russian activities in the North Sea, northeast Asia and the American coast, the Independent reported. These are the regions where vital undersea cables that carry global Internet communications are located.
"I'm worried every day about what the Russians may be doing," Rear Admiral Frederick Roegge, Commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific submarine fleet, said in a New York Times report.
While cables get severed all the time, a concentrated attack by a belligerent regime such as Russia could bring the Internet to a grinding halt. This is critical since $10 trillion dollars could be lost daily if the business deals transacted through the underwater cables are interrupted, according to The Verge.
"The risk here is that any country could cause damage to the system and do it in a way that is completely covert, without having a warship with a cable-cutting equipment right in the area," Michael Sechrist, a security expert told the New York Times.
The U.S. government has not released any specific action that is aimed at countering the Russian threat. This alarms experts as Russian ships and submarines could very well carry out a covert attack that target cables at greater depths. At this level, the damage will be difficult to monitor and fix.
