Internet monitors reported over the weekend that significant service disruptions in Asia and the Middle East were likely due to damage to submarine cables in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia. It’s still unclear if this damage resulted from intentional actions.
According to Microsoft, Friday’s “undersea fiber cutting in the Red Sea” led to “increased network delays in traffic routes through the Middle East.”
“Network traffic is being managed as Microsoft reroutes it through alternative paths. However, we expect higher latency for some traffic that previously moved through the Middle East,” the bulletin detailed.
NetBlocks, which tracks internet freedom and censorship, noted that on Friday there were “deteriorated internet connections in several countries, including Pakistan and India.”
NetBlocks confirmed the problem stemmed from “sequences of submarine cable outages in the Red Sea,” especially in major systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Similarly, internet interruptions have been reported in the UAE with Etirasat and DuNets, leading to slow speeds and inconsistent access as engineers work to address the issues affecting multiple nations,” added NetBlocks.
Pakistan’s telecommunications company, PTCL, the largest in the country, also indicated there were degraded internet services due to the damaged cables near Jeddah. Officials in Kuwait noted that local internet disruptions were linked to another cable’s damage in the Red Sea.
There are several possibilities for the damage to submarine cables—accidental impacts from nearby vessels or natural underwater phenomena. There’s also the potential for sabotage, such as intentionally dropping and dragging anchors over cables.
Since Hamas initiated the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, there have been concerns about Yemeni allies (the Iran-supported Houthi rebels) targeting the internet cables in the Red Sea. The Houthis have a history of attacking vessels in the Red Sea to support Hamas.
In early 2024, a telecom company tied to Yemen’s recognized government warned that the Houthis might attempt to disrupt submarine cables. This warning was partly based on intercepted communications showing the Houthis were aware of the cables’ locations and intended to cause disruptions.
Following this warning, four of the region’s major communication networks reported damage to the Red Sea cables.
As with this recent incident, determining whether the damage was caused by natural events, accidental incidents, or deliberate actions is challenging. It could even be tied to a commercial vessel sinking at the time. The Houthis have publicly denied any involvement in damaging the cables.
Yemeni Information Minister commented on Saturday that the recent internet issues “are part of a series of direct attacks by the Houthi militia targeting submarine cables in the Red Sea, in addition to terrorist acts resulting in cable damage due to repeated assaults on ships within Yemeni waters.”
“What is currently happening in the Red Sea should awaken the international community. There needs to be a decisive stance to halt these escalating threats and to safeguard the digital infrastructure that is essential for today’s world,” Al-Eryani declared.
