The World’s Data Lifelines Are Increasingly Exposed to Sabotage

By Felicity Bradstock - Apr 26, 2026

• Undersea cables carry roughly 99% of global internet and AI traffic and are essential for offshore renewable energy transmission.
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• The network is expanding rapidly, with 119 new cables expected in 2026, but it remains vulnerable to damage from human activity, natural events, and sabotage.
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• Governments are increasing investment in monitoring and redundancy, but rising geopolitical tensions are heightening concerns about targeted disruptions.
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Undersea cables are vital for delivering renewable power from offshore projects and providing cross-country telecommunications connectivity. The rapid growth of undersea cable networks is helping to boost regional connectivity worldwide. However, more must be done to reduce vulnerabilities in these networks and combat the threat of sabotage.

There are various types of cables running under the sea, each with its own purpose. The first undersea cables were put in place in the 19th century, with over 400 cables now active worldwide. Some submarine cables provide the primary means of cross-region connectivity, while others transport renewable energy from offshore projects to onshore transmission networks.

Currently, undersea cables carry around 99 percent of global internet and artificial intelligence traffic. As the network continues to grow at a rapid pace, largely in response to the growing demand for AI, 119 new undersea cables are expected to be developed worldwide in 2026, up from 66 in 2020.

Conventional submarine power cables measure between 7 cm and 21 cm in diameter with a cross-section of a three-core power cable. Each cable is armoured with a steel wire and protected by an oversheath layer. Meanwhile, telecommunications cables are thinner, at between 4 cm and 5 cm in diameter, with optical fibres covered by layers of polyethene, copper and, often, protective steel wire.

These cables are placed on the seabed in the deep-sea, around 2 km below the surface, where they are not at risk of disturbance from fishing activities, or are buried in shallower waters. The average cost of installing a submarine power cable is high, at around $1.2-3.5 million per kilometre and for internet cables between $29,000 to $53,000 per km.

While these subsea cables are vital for providing energy and connectivity, several risks are associated with their use. Each year, there are between 150 and 200 unintentional damages to submarine cables, typically caused by human activity, such as fishing. They can also be affected by geological events, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. However, the more concerning risk is the threat of malicious acts by foreign actors.

In recent years, there have been several reports of sabotage in the media, although it is often hard to assess whether damage is intentional or accidental. For example, state actors have sometimes been accused of weaponising fishing or oil vessels to cause damage to subsea infrastructure. Subsea cables can be fixed using cable repair vessels or submersibles, but these operations are expensive and can delay power or internet delivery.

In the European Union, regional powers introduced the EU Action Plan on Cable Security in 2025 to boost subsea cable resilience, mitigate risk and improve detection, response, recovery, and deterrence. Meanwhile, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the United States have all updated their laws to address vulnerabilities in subsea cable systems.

However, while the “submarine cable industry goes to great lengths to protect cables, provide resilient networks and minimise disruptions… bad actors too can cause disruptions if they really wanted to,” the chairman of the International Cable Protection Committee, Dean Veverka, explained.

Countries and private companies are investing more each year in technology that helps to monitor cables and prevent attacks. One such technology is distributed acoustic sensing, which transforms optical fibres into long-range microphones to detect and warn of nearby ships or other disruptions. Sonar arrays are also being used to monitor the cables’ surroundings and warn of nearby vessels.

However, many governments believe that more must be done to reduce the risk of sabotage to undersea cables, such as establishing deterrent measures. This is particularly important as constant technological improvements are likely to make sabotage easier. To mitigate the impact of potential sabotage, governments are also increasing the number of cable connections to make it easier to switch from one cable to another in an emergency.

The conversation around undersea cable security threats is more pertinent than ever as the escalating U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has raised broader security concerns. There are major concerns about the fibre-optic cables running through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Although Iran has not officially threatened to cut the communication cables, it has been flagged as a possibility that could have a devastating effect.

If the telecommunications cables were cut, it would have a major impact on India, as around 60 percent of the country’s internet traffic is connected to a link that passes through the Gulf region. This could significantly disrupt India’s cloud services, digital payments, and AI devices and have a major knock-on economic effect.

Despite the significant investment needed for cable maintenance and repair, governments and private companies must spend more on these activities to mitigate risks and strengthen power and telecommunications networks. In addition, greater regional and international cooperation to develop international subsea cable policies could help reduce the threat to these networks.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com