Reports coming in that Houthis have cut internet cables in the Red Sea

Red Sea at sunset

Important Takeaways:

  • An underwater communication cable between India and Europe in the Red Sea managed by Seacom has been cut, the company confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg today.
  • The cable runs in an area where the rebel group in Yemen called the Houthis have been targeting ships with drones and missiles. Other underwater cables, namely, Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1), Europe India Gateway (EIG), and Tata Global Network (TGN) systems connecting Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Djibouti have also cut off in the Red Sea, as per a report by the Israeli publication Globes.
  • Of these, the AAE-1, provides internet to a wide range of countries including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and India; EIG provides internet to 12 countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, Egypt, and India; and TGN systems links linking Mumbai in India with Marseille in France.
  • The repairs of these cables are expected to take about eight weeks and exposes those making said repairs to potential attacks by the Houthis.

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Yemen government warns Houthis may target global internet cables following recent post

Internet-Cables-Red-Sea

Important Takeaways:

  • How the Houthis could get revenge on the U.S. for airstrikes by cutting a FIFTH of the world’s internet
  • Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen could try to sabotage internet cables in the Red Sea carrying nearly one fifth of the world’s web traffic, according to a spate of new warnings.
  • Yemen’s government warned that the Red Sea is ‘one of the three most important meeting points for cables’ on the globe and the Houthis pose a ‘serious threat to one of the most important digital infrastructures in the world.’
  • It came after a Houthi social media channel published a map showing the routes of various cables through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.
  • The map was accompanied with the ominous message: ‘It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents – not only countries – pass near it.’
  • The average depth of the Red Sea is 450 meters but some are at depths of as little as 100 meters.
  • There are 16 cables passing through including a sprawling 15,000-mile long one called Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) which supplies broadband to Asia and Europe.
  • It connects a litany of countries including France, Italy and Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, India and Pakistan.

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