Top Secret Government Cables, and Why You Should Never Cut Them

Construction workers often stumble across unmarked lines and cables at dig sites, no big deal. Sure, they occasionally come across significant historical artifacts, but that just earns everyone a day off while someone calls in the archaeologists. In Washington D.C., however, things can be a bit more serious -- especially if you hit a confidential government "black" cable.

You probably know that there are plenty of secret government buildings and bomb shelters throughout the nation's capital. Not surprisingly, there are also miles of unmarked communication lines linking all these top-secret locations together. According to the Washington Post, workers constructing an office building in D.C. a few years back inadvertently severed one of these secure lines. Apparently, only moments later they were greeted by a caravan of black SUVs filled with humorless men in suits bearing the simple message -- "You just hit our line."

The incident inspired the Washington Post to investigate the danger to national security should such an incident occur again, especially since construction is already under way on a $5.2 billion Metrorail extension that will likely encounter many of these clandestine cables.

Mike Birmingham, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the Post that the government is prepared for such incidents, stating "no particular project puts us at risk. We don't have a single point of failure." Solidifying the fact that the government is ready for construction issues, remember how quick the response was to the earlier incident -- if only we could get that kind of service from the cable company. [From: The Washington Post]

Tags: government, top, top secret, TopSecret