The company that operates the cable claims that the sudden break can only be justified by a cut caused by an “external force.” Finnish and German ministers suspect intentional damage.
An underwater cable in the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland with Germany, stopped working this Monday, operators from both countries confirmed. Authorities in Helsinki and Berlin announced that they are investigating the case and raised suspicions of sabotage.
In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries stressed that “the fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional harm speaks volumes about the volatility of these times.” “Our European security is not only threatened by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, but also by a hybrid war carried out by malicious actors”they say, adding that the protection of common infrastructure is vital for “the resilience of our societies.”
Accidental cuts, espionage or sabotage. Can submarine cables be weapons of war?
The affected submarine cable (C-Lion1) is approximately 1,200 kilometers long and connects Helsinki to Rostock. It is the only one connecting Finland with central Europe and is operated by the Finnish state company Cinia, which is also investigating the incident. So far, the company has not given any explanation for what happened, but the CEO said in a press conference that the sudden break implied that the cable was cut by an external force. He added, according to CNN, that a physical inspection has not yet been carried out to verify the damage.
The head of communications at the Finnish National Cybersecurity Center said that “from time to time” some “disturbances” can occur, caused by various factors. “[Os cabos] They are susceptible to weather conditions and ship incidents. The important thing is to identify the problems and take measures to solve them,” Samuli Bergström told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
Bergström recalled that the connections that leave Finland go to different parts of the world. “Now one of these connections has been broken, which could overwhelm others,” he admitted, noting that the effects are “probably not visible to the average citizen.”
On Sunday it had also been detected A problem with an undersea cable connecting Lithuania and Sweden that affected Internet service.. Speaking to CNN, a spokeswoman for the company that manages it (Telia) said that the situation was due to “physical damage to the cable’s fiber optics.”
The incidents come just weeks after the United States warned of increased Russian military activities near important undersea cables. Two US sources told CNN that Washington believed Russia was likely to launch sabotage operations against these infrastructures.
Source: Observadora
