Fourth Undersea Cable Cut, Stoking Suspicions of Intent
A fourth undersea cable that carries Internet connectivity to and from the Middle East has been cut, according to various reports. The previous three cuts caused major disruptions to Internet service in the region and in some cases led to complete Internet blackouts.
This latest cable is operated by Qatar Telecom, and the disruption affected mainly that part of the United Arab Emirates, the federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula. While this latest cut didn't cause a complete disruption of service to Qatar, the prior cable failures caused major Internet blackouts in several Arab states in the Persian Gulf region.
According to reports, the latest disruption was caused by a power failure and not by a ship's anchor slicing the physical cable, as has been suspected in the other three major disruptions. These same reports hint at the suspicion that the cuts have been intentional but, so far, there has been no confirmed report that these disruptions are the result of an organized effort.
From Engadget.
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