Ireland's Digital Lifeline: What Happens If Undersea Cables Are Cut?

Not many people will know that about a week ago a Russian spy ship was escorted out of the Irish Sea after it entered Irish-controlled waters and patrolled an area containing critical energy and internet submarine pipelines and cables. The "Yantar" intelligence ship was spotted on Thursday 16th Nov 2024 east of Dublin and South West of the Isle Of Man (off the coast of lovely Louth) from where I write this article.

The presence of the Russian ship raises concerns about the status of the interconnector cables that run between Ireland and the UK carrying global internet traffic from our data centres which are run by some of the biggest tech companies in the World and have their EU headquarters in Dublin. With the use of underwater deep submersibles the risk of accidental event or of deliberate sabotage is obvious.

So what would happen if these cables were to get cut?

I asked CHATGPT for a summary and the response is below :

If all undersea internet cables connecting Ireland to the rest of the world were cut, it would have a significant and immediate impact on the country's communication and internet infrastructure. Here's what would likely happen:

1. Disruption of International Internet Access

• Ireland’s connection to the global internet relies heavily on a network of undersea fiber-optic cables. If these were cut, access to websites, services, and data hosted outside of Ireland would be disrupted or entirely lost.
• This would impact everything from everyday browsing and streaming services to essential business operations, cloud-based applications, and international communications.

2. Impact on Businesses and Financial Services

• Ireland hosts a large number of multinational corporations, particularly tech and financial services companies (like Google, Facebook, and major financial institutions). A severance of these cables would critically affect their operations, especially those requiring real-time international communication.
• Financial transactions, including credit card processing, international trading, and banking, could be halted or significantly delayed.

3. National Internet Traffic Management

• Some local internet traffic might still function if hosted within Ireland, allowing limited communication within the country. However, networks would quickly become congested due to increased demand on local infrastructure.
• Telecom providers would attempt to reroute traffic through any remaining connections, but complete undersea cable cuts would make this extremely challenging.

4. Telecommunications Outage

• Beyond the internet, telecommunication services relying on internet-based protocols (such as VoIP and some mobile services) would face severe disruptions.
• Calls, texts, and data services that require international connectivity could be affected, leading to a reduced capacity to communicate with contacts outside of Ireland.

5. Economic and Social Impact

• The immediate economic impact would be severe, with losses from halted business activities, potential financial market disruptions, and a decrease in tourism and other internet-dependent sectors.
• Socially, individuals would experience difficulties accessing international social media platforms, video calls, online education, and gaming.

6. Cybersecurity and Emergency Measures

• A major disruption of undersea cables could be viewed as a national security threat. Ireland would likely activate emergency protocols, involving cybersecurity measures and international support.
• Backup satellite communication systems might be employed, but these have limited bandwidth and would not be able to handle the normal data flow of an entire country.

7. Possible Solutions and Mitigations

• Satellite Internet: Backup satellite systems could provide minimal connectivity for essential services, but the bandwidth and latency would be much poorer compared to undersea cables.
• Rerouting via the UK or Europe: If cables connecting Ireland to the UK or mainland Europe remain intact, internet providers could potentially reroute some of the traffic, but it would not fully compensate for the loss.
• Deployment of Repair Ships: Specialized repair ships would be dispatched to locate and fix the damaged cables. This process could take days to weeks depending on the severity of the damage and weather conditions.

The overall impact would be a combination of economic disruption, reduced international communication, and a strain on Ireland's local digital infrastructure. The response would involve a mixture of technical, economic, and possibly geopolitical measures to restore full connectivity.

END CHATGPT

That's a pretty terrifying response and although we would inevitable repair the cables and reroute traffic via satellite communications it coule take MONTHS. Imagine if you suddenly lost internet connection on all of your devices. Imagine a scenario where you loose some or all of your everyday digital services especially if they are connected internationally.

• No International Phones
• No TV streaming
• No Social media
• No credit card transactions
• No Gmail
• No Spotify
• No Bank Transactions
• No Zoom
• No YouTube

It would like the Pandemic in reverse where we get shifted back to a pre computer and tv era. Some might say that wouldnt be a bad thing for a few months but the true impact on a very digital dependent Ireland would be immense. Not to mention the shock factor on International Companies who Trump is only waiting for an excuse to pull back to mainland USA.

I would welcome comments on this article.