The Vulnerable Telecom Cables!

This is a pretty scary scenario!! If a few telecom lines under-sea are cut off that can disrupt the communications of a country big time!! The disruption here was caused by the damage to the lines under the sea in Taiwan due to the earthquake of the magnitude of 6.7 richter. But the point is that someone’s enemy could have done this too…

With one blow, Mother Nature triggered the largest telecommunications outage in years, cutting off or slowing telephone and Internet traffic in Asia from Beijing to Bangkok.

A powerful earthquake off the southern tip of Taiwan late Tuesday damaged up to a dozen fiber-optic cables that cross the ocean floor south of Taiwan. They usually carry traffic between China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the U.S. and the island itself.

The magnitude-6.7 tremor, which struck near the town of Hengchun, killed two residents of Taiwan and injured more than 40 people.

It also showed the vulnerability of the global telecommunications network. (emphasis added)