The Russian Cable Cutters Are Coming :0

In World War Three those dastardly Russians might cut our cables! Funny - the Internet is designed to minimise the communications impact of WW3 like scenarios. Click on this site for much expanded undersea cable map. (Map courtesy Alfa img)

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Brace yourself, with the thought "Anything is possible!" If you recall Submarine Matter's Russian "Drone" and Submarine Propaganda - But Whose? be very, very afraid that the Russians may Do Something! The New York Times article below seems like another attempt of the US Navy and industry to boost the sales prospects of US Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). A UUV may become essential for every US submarine mission.

Inspired by the NSA's Operation Ivy Bells intrepid reporters David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt from the New York Times detail a very dark tale that may happen but not quite yet. The following are snippets with necessary bolding to be scary - almost. This New York Times article is the original that launched all the copycat "Russians May Cut..." articles over the last two days. Here it is   http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/world/europe/russian-presence-near-undersea-cables-concerns-us.html

Russian Ships Near Data Cables Are Too Close for U.S. Comfort

By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITTOCT. 25, 2015

WASHINGTON — Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict.

The issue goes beyond old worries during the Cold War…The alarm today is deeper: The ultimate Russian hack…the West’s…citizens have grown dependent.

While there is no evidence yet …through a lens of deep distrust, reminiscent of relations during the Cold War.

Inside the Pentagon and the nation’s spy agencies, the assessments of Russia’s growing naval activities are highly classified and not publicly discussed in detail. …But more than a dozen officials confirmed in broad terms…

“I’m worried every day about what the Russians may be doing,” said Rear Adm. Frederick J. Roegge…who would not answer questions about possible Russian plans for cutting the undersea cables.

…In private, however, commanders and intelligence officials are far more direct…. cables, which carry the lifeblood of global electronic communications and commerce.

Just last month, the Russian spy ship Yantar, equipped with two self-propelled deep-sea submersible craft, [not just UUVs] cruised slowly off the East Coast of the United States on its way to Cuba —…have the capability to cut cables miles down in the sea.

Russian spy ship RV Yantar - cunningly disguised as a spy ship - revealed by the  radome on the roof. (Photo courtesy The Washington Free Beacon)
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…What worries Pentagon planners most is that the Russians appear to be looking for vulnerabilities at much greater depths, where the cables are hard to monitor and breaks are hard to find and repair.

…The exceptions are special cables, with secret locations …

…So important are undersea cables that the Department of Homeland Security lists their landing areas — mostly around New York, Miami and Los Angeles — at the top of its list of “critical infrastructure.”

…American officials closely monitor the Yantar, which Russian officials insist is an oceanographic ship with no ties to espionage.

…Admiral Ferguson said the intensity of Russian submarine patrols had risen by almost 50 percent over the last year [50 percent of a tiny number compared to US patrols]...

Russia is also building an undersea unmanned drone capable of carrying a small, tactical nuclear weapon to use against harbors or coastal areas, ...

See WHOLE ARTICLE

Remember - be very afraid :0
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Though scary some Russians are cute!