Undersea Cables Cut: Oops or Uh-oh?

I am confused as to why we are talking about the feasibility of physically tapping a fiber optic cable... why not just run the info thru a server and "tap" into it that way? Like the NSA does?

reply to post by aaaauroraaaaa


Twas what I said earlier. It's far easier to intercept traffic at node sites than on trans oceanic cables. I can listen in to any call's I like that traverse our network, for "fault finding purposes", remotely and without anyone knowing that I'm on the call with them.

Additional Links on similar instances recently

ATT network Outage

Possible reference to russia

I came across this, thought I share it. A cross-section of a submarine communications cable. 1. Polyethylene. 2. "Mylar" tape. 3. Stranded steel wires. 4. Aluminum water barrier. 5. Polycarbonate. 6. Copper or aluminum tube. 7. Petroleum jelly. 8. Optical fibers.They are typically 69 mm in diameter and weigh around 10 kg per meter, although thinner and lighter cables are used for deep water sections

I had such a hard time posting this. My computer was doing some strange stuff and I feel a bit uneasy about it. Anyway, I hope this is relevant and has not already been posted.
It would seem from this link, that they have already mastered tapping into an undersea cable and it was not detected until the info was revealed by our own agent. The question then is, why would they reveal themselves by causing an information blackout when they could tap a line and no one would be the wiser? Obviously,to keep info from coming out of or into the middle east. So which one is it? An event here or there? I do think this is a serious situation.


Operation Ivy Bells

Thus, a joint Navy-National Security Agency (NSA) mission was initiated, code-named Operation Ivy Bells, involving the use of U.S. Navy fast attack submarines working in conjunction with specially-trained Navy combat divers. Working in tandem, they would make monthly incursions into these dangerous waters to "tap" the line. One of the first such missions involved the USS Halibut (SSN-587) and the installation of a miniaturized, waterproof pod on the cable. This "wrap around" device, developed by the NSA, could eavesdrop on - and record - all communications passing through the line without the need for actually penetrating the wires inside. This capability was deemed necessary to prevent any possible damage to the cable that might then attract unwanted attention. In the event that the Russians chose to perform routine maintenance, the pod was designed to break off and fall to the sea bed in the event the line was raised for any reason.

reply to post by kosmicjack


The russians? Are we talking about the 1970's here? Things have changed... Again, all they have to do is run the info/data/voice thru a server, not physically place a tap on the line, or cut into the line.


[edit on 3-2-2008 by aaaauroraaaaa]

reply to post by aaaauroraaaaa


Obviously. I posted that article because thirty plus years ago they were able to do such things. Now, it would be so much easier and point is that the issue should not be whether they can do it or how they do it but - Why.



[edit on 3/2/08 by kosmicjack]

Ships did not cause Internet cable damage
(AFP)

3 February 2008


CAIRO - Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports.

The transport ministry added that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged.

‘The ministry’s maritime transport committee reviewed footage covering the period of 12 hours before and 12 hours after the cables were cut and no ships sailed the area,’ a statement said.

‘The area is also marked on maps as a no-go zone and it is therefore ruled out that the damage to the cables was caused by ships,’ the statement added.

Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to Internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia.

A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.

Earlier reports said that the damage had been caused by ships that had been diverted off their usual route because of bad weather.

Egypt’s communication and information technology ministry said it would report its findings to the owners of the two damaged Mediterranean cables, FLAG Telecom and SEA-ME-WE4.

A repair ship was expected to begin work to fix the two Mediterranean cables on Tuesday.

Source here:
smallurl.co.uk...

[edit on 3-2-2008 by DwaynetheSpecious]

[edit on 3-2-2008 by DwaynetheSpecious]

[edit on 3-2-2008 by DwaynetheSpecious]

Originally posted by DwaynetheSpecious

A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.

????????/ Now there are 4 cables all cut within one week? And now there is videotape showing that no ships crossed within 12 hours of either side of the point where the outage was at one of the cables?? (how close are these cables to land anyway where it was supposedly cut/damaged?)

What is going on in the middle east that we don't know about with the internet being out?

[edit on 3-2-2008 by aaaauroraaaaa]

reply to post by aaaauroraaaaa


Yup. Here is another source on the 4th cable:

Another undersea Internet cable damaged in Mideast

reply to post by DwaynetheSpecious


I guess this means we can rule out the oops and start saying uh-oh

reply to post by Golack




No question it is starting to look like that.

What next?

reply to post by loam


Something is definitely going on. I found this other article concerning the damaged cables.

Ships did not cause Internet cable damage

CAIRO - Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports.

The transport ministry added that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged.

‘The ministry’s maritime transport committee reviewed footage covering the period of 12 hours before and 12 hours after the cables were cut and no ships sailed the area,’ a statement said.

‘The area is also marked on maps as a no-go zone and it is therefore ruled out that the damage to the cables was caused by ships,’ the statement added.

Unfortunately it offers no speculation as to what may have caused it. I'm leaning more and more towards kosmicjack's suggestion.

Maybe this news article posted by DimensionalDetective does have merit?
Pentagon: The internet needs to be dealt with as if it were an "enemy weapons system"

Yes, Yes, Yes....I know. Another Sorcha Faal article. But it does offer a different perspective as to WHY the cables were cut. Basically, she "speculates" that it may be tied to the Iranian threat to begin backing off using the Dollar to trade their oil, as well as OPEC threats to do the same and start using the Euro.

Sorcha Faal... dubious at best, but still sounds right on the money when it comes to the severed cable speculations. It's at least the most creative explanation I've heard.


read her article here: www.whatdoesitmean.com...

This is my take for what it's worth. Although, I don't have any special knowledge, training, or information to verify my thoughts.

I don't think there's much that they can't do with the existing technology that we actually know about. And I think the technology that we don't know about is probably beyond what we even imagine in SciFi.

That being said, I think the need to place a physical tap would be overkill and unnecessary if information gathering is their objective.

I believe this incident is three things; a clear warning to specific countries concerning their recent activities, a prelude to a larger operation, and a single act in a staged play.

So, if no surface vessel was visible during the period the "cut" happened, then maybe it was something below the surface?
Who's got Subs sailing around the Med and Gulf areas right now

Another question that needs to be asked is "who benefits and how?"

(Ok, technically that's 2 questions but let's not be pedantic)

The more I think about the article I posted here, the more I think this supports our concern.

Here is another source: Israel gearing up for Another War

No ships, no anchors. Awesome. A little test run? Or a calling card? With the threat of "I'll be back". A news article does state that the internet is to be treated as an enemy asset by military leadership in at least one government.

Denny's in Tehran? I can't help but think a real "bonehead" move is in the offing... before, you know... "he" leaves. No, not 43, "Halli-Dick".

Vic

[edit on 3-2-2008 by V Kaminski]

Originally posted by Golack
Iran was supposed to open its petroleum exchange market today, the Iranian Oil Bourse.

Makes you wonder...

You nailed it friend...educated guess tells me this was a U.S. action in retaliation of Iran refusing to exchange oil in dollars. This hypothesis has been discussed elsewhere and is very reasonable.

"Cutting" internet and telephone cables does not benefit anyone, anywhere.

My guess is that this is related to geological activity.