Continental Internet disruption...I smell a rat

[Telperion]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/31/dubai.outage/index.html

The damage could have been caused by a 'ships anchor' damaging undersea cables but the real cause remains 'unknown'.

The outage heavily crippled Dubai's business section, which is heavily reliant on electronic means for billions of dollars' worth of transactions daily.
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Wadah Tahah, the business strategies and development manager for state-owned construction company EMAAR, told CNN Arabic that it was fortunate the outage started Wednesday, when there had been only moderate activity in the UAE markets. He said that softened the blow to business interests.

But Tahah warned that if the outage continued, "such a situation could create problems between brokers, companies, and investors due to loss of control."

What is the message being sent here I wonder? Take a close look at the countries spared the outage and then consider the countries effected and tell me this is only an accident.

 

[Ruth]

Its interesting to see how much human beings and their respective domestic economies depend on certain technology. Perhaps it could be a "warning" of some sort?

It appears that this "warning" has been also echoed in the entertainment industry.... That latest Die Hard film perhaps? I wonder if this isn't a prediction of things to come.

 

[domi]

And now a third cable has been cut...

_http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7222536.stm

I am wondering if this is part - controlling the flow of information - of an impending attack on Iran.

 

[mada85]

Reading the BBC article cited by Domivr, I wondered how strong these undersea cables are and what it would take to accidentally sever, damage or snap one. Such information is not that easy to find.

Mother Earth Mother Board is an article by Neal Stephenson that appeared in the December 1996 issue of Wired Magazine. On page four we find the following, which gives an idea of the construction of the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) cable, but no real idea of its overall diameter.

The cable, therefore, consists of an inner core of four optical fibers, coated with plastic jackets of different colors so that the people at opposite ends can tell which is which, plus a thin copper wire that is used for test purposes. The total thickness of these elements taken together is comparable to a pencil lead; (note: a pencil lead is about 2mm in diameter) they are contained within a transparent plastic tube. Surrounding this tube is a sheath consisting of three steel segments designed so that they interlock and form a circular jacket. Around that is a layer of about 20 steel "strength wires" - each perhaps 2 mm in diameter - that wrap around the core in a steep helix. Around the strength wires goes a copper tube that serves as the conductor for the 10,000-volt power feed. Only one conductor is needed because the ocean serves as the ground wire. This tube also is watertight and so performs the additional function of protecting the cable's innards. It then is surrounded by polyethylene insulation to a total thickness of about an inch. To protect it from the rigors of shipment and laying, the entire cable is clothed in good old-fashioned tarred jute, although jute nowadays is made from plastic, not hemp.

This suffices for the deep-sea portions of the cable. In shallower waters, additional layers of protection are laid on, beginning with a steel antishark jacket. As the shore is approached, various other layers of steel armoring wires are added.

This more or less describes how all submarine cables are being made as of 1996. Only a few companies in the world know how to make cables like this: AT&T Submarine Systems International (AT&T-SSI) in the US, Alcatel in France, and KDD Submarine Cable Systems (KDD-SCS) in Japan, among others. AT&T-SSI and KDD-SCS frequently work together on large projects and are responsible for FLAG.

So, we can see that these cables are very well protected.

What is curious is that it is difficult to find accurate technical information on the construction of these cables. Neither could I find at what depth the three cables are lying at the place of the accident.

The Falcon cable, owned by a firm that operates one of the previously damaged cables, was snapped on Friday morning.

Interesting that the same company owns/operates two of the three damaged cables.

FLAG Telecom is major telecommunications company proving network transport and data services to telecom operators. The company is based in Mumbai, India and is a subsidiary of Reliance Communications. It operates two major submarine communications cables: FLAG and FALCON.

FLAG Telecom, KDDI and AT&T are not giving away any details of the construction of their undersea cable. Not even a diagram such as is shown on the BBC page cited by Domivr.

The following articles appear on Wikipedia today:

January 2008 service disruptions

On 30 January 2008 internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent following damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG cables in the Mediterranean Sea. BBC News Online reported 70% disruption in Egypt and 60% disruption in India Problems were reported in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The respective contributions of the two cable systems to this blackout is unclear. Network outage graphs suggest that the two breaks occurred at 0430 and 0800 UTC.

The cause of the damage has not been declared by either cable operator, but a number of news sources speculate that the damage was caused by a ship's anchor near Alexandria. According to the AFP, the Kuwait government attributes the breaks to "weather conditions and maritime traffic." The New York Times reported that the damage occurred to the two systems separately near Alexandria and near Marseilles.

One day later, on 1 February 2008, the FALCON cable was also reported cut 56km off Dubai.

Cable cut on 1 February 2008

According to Flag Telecom, the "FALCON cable is reported cut at 0559 hrs GMT on February 1 2008. Location of cut is at 56 kms from Dubai, UAE on segment between UAE and Oman." This happened just two days after service interruptions in the FLAG and SEA-ME-WE4 cable.

An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days.

On February 1, 2008, CNN reported that now three cables are cut, and it may be weeks to repair the damage. Two undersea cables were cut off Egypt, and one cut about 50 miles off Dubai.

Official reports cite "ship anchors" as the probable cause.

How likely is it that three "ship anchors" cut three submarine communications cables in three days?

Mediterranean Cables Cut, Disrupting Communications (Update2) on the Bloomberg site says:

Six ships were diverted from Alexandria port and one may have severed the cables with an anchor, said a spokesman for Flag Telecom Group Ltd., which operates one of the cables. The incident took place 8.3 kilometers (5.2 miles) from Alexandria beach in northern Egypt, the spokesman, who asked not to be named, said in an interview from Mumbai, India.

"The cables are not easily broken so there must have been a ``huge hit,'' said Joseph Metry, network supervisor at Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, the biggest mobile- phone company in the Middle East and North Africa. The problem is affecting all Egyptian Internet users, Metry said in a phone interview from Cairo. The ships were diverted because of bad weather yesterday, he said.

I am wondering if this is part - controlling the flow of information - of an impending attack on Iran.

An example of rabble-rousing against Iran can be found in an article entitled Has Iran Won? in the Friday February 1st 2008 edition of The Economist. The article is riddled with assumptions and anti-Iran invective.

The good folks at The Economist describe their website as:

Economist.com is the premier online source for the analysis of world business and current affairs, providing authoritative insight and opinion on international news […]

Well, if you repeat a lie for long enough…

 

[Cyre2067]

Hmph, well given the state of technology couldn't they just flip a switch at HQ and pretend the cables were cut? I mean, to actually cut them, with an anchor would require some precision anchor dropping...

 

[Vulcan59]

Managed to find a map showing the layout of the undersea cables. PDF file approximately 2.1MB

 

[mada85]

Hmph, well given the state of technology couldn't they just flip a switch at HQ and pretend the cables were cut? I mean, to actually cut them, with an anchor would require some precision anchor dropping...

Exactly. Assume the cable is about 12 inches diameter. Now consider the area of the sea bed, and in relation to that the size of a ship's anchor, and in relation to that, the size of the cable, and factor in the currents. And this same 'accident' happens three times in three days? But I think they would have to cut the cables and make it look like an accident, because repair crews would have to be sent out and they would not be so easily deceived. It has to look 'real'.

 

[Charliebox]

How likely is it that three "ship anchors" cut three submarine communications cables in three days?

Not very, considering this is what Egypt's communications industry said:

_http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2008/February/theworld_February77.xml&section=theworld&col

CAIRO - Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports.


The transport ministry added that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged.

‘The ministry’s maritime transport committee reviewed footage covering the period of 12 hours before and 12 hours after the cables were cut and no ships sailed the area,’ a statement said.

‘The area is also marked on maps as a no-go zone and it is therefore ruled out that the damage to the cables was caused by ships,’ the statement added.

Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to Internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia.

A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.

Earlier reports said that the damage had been caused by ships that had been diverted off their usual route because of bad weather.

Egypt’s communication and information technology ministry said it would report its findings to the owners of the two damaged Mediterranean cables, FLAG Telecom and SEA-ME-WE4.

A repair ship was expected to begin work to fix the two Mediterranean cables on Tuesday.

 

[Rich]

Interesting possible motive from here:_http://www.energybulletin.net/39844.html

Iran oil bourse scheduled
By Staff
EB reader BB writes:
Iran was scheduled to inaugurate its Oil Bourse this coming week.
That probably isn't going to happen because all internet access in Iran was cut over the weekend (the undersea cables were chopped). This was mentioned on Wikipedia for a day... but now the article links and coverage have disappeared.
Iran is in total internet blackout at the moment. Any further information is appreciated.

_http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=37468&sectionid=351020103

Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar
MK/JG/RE/HAR, Iran Press TV
The long-awaited Iranian Oil Bourse, a place for trading oil, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, will soon open.
Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters the bourse will be inaugurated during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest.
"All preparations have been made to launch the bourse; it will open during the Ten-Day Dawn (the ceremonies marking the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran)," he said.
The Minister had earlier stated that the Oil Bourse is located on the Persian Gulf island of Kish.
Some expert opinions hold inauguration of the bourse could significantly devalue the greenback.
(4 January 2008)
Also reported at IranMania and mentioned in a report from Global Research (Jan 23, 2008). Otherwise, no reports seem to appear in the media.
-BA

 

[sean53]

Iran is still showing 100% packet loss
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/asia.htm

 

[StayCalm]

That motive sure seems viable to me

*Snip*
When in 1970-1971 foreigners demanded payment for their dollars in gold, The U.S. Government defaulted on its payment on August 15, 1971. While the popular spin told the story of “severing the link between the dollar and gold”, in reality the denial to pay back in gold was an act of bankruptcy by the U.S. Government. Essentially, the U.S. declared itself an Empire. It had extracted an enormous amount of economic goods from the rest of the world, with no intention or ability to return those goods, and the world was powerless to respond— the world was taxed and it could not do anything about it.

From that point on, to sustain the American Empire and to continue to tax the rest of the world, the United States had to force the world to continue to accept ever-depreciating dollars in exchange for economic goods and to have the world hold more and more of those depreciating dollars. It had to give the world an economic reason to hold them, and that reason was oil.

In 1971, as it became clearer and clearer that the U.S Government would not be able to buy back its dollars in gold, it made in 1972-73 an iron-clad arrangement with Saudi Arabia to support the power of the House of Saud in exchange for accepting only U.S. dollars for its oil. The rest of OPEC was to follow suit and also accept only dollars. Because the world had to buy oil from the Arab oil countries, it had the reason to hold dollars as payment for oil. Because the world needed ever increasing quantities of oil at ever increasing oil prices, the world’s demand for dollars could only increase. Even though dollars could no longer be exchanged for gold, they were now exchangeable for oil.

*Snip*

...The Iranian government has finally developed the ultimate “nuclear” weapon that can swiftly destroy the financial system underpinning the American Empire. That weapon is the Iranian Oil Bourse slated to open in March 2006. It will be based on a euro-oil-trading mechanism that naturally implies payment for oil in Euro. In economic terms, this represents a much greater threat to the hegemony of the dollar than Saddam’s, because it will allow anyone willing either to buy or to sell oil for Euro to transact on the exchange, thus circumventing the U.S. dollar altogether.

*Snip*

At any rate, no matter what the British decide, should the Iranian Oil Bourse accelerate, the interests that matter—those of Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, and Arabs—will eagerly adopt the Euro, thus sealing the fate of the dollar. Americans cannot allow this to happen, and if necessary, will use a vast array of strategies to halt or hobble the operation’s exchange:

· Sabotaging the Exchange—this could be a computer virus, network, communications, or server attack, various server security breaches, or a 9-11-type attack on main and backup facilities....

And maybe we're in Iraq for the very same reason.

In November 2000, Iraq became the first OPEC nation to begin selling its oil for Euros. Since then, the value of the Euro has increased 17%, and the dollar has begun to decline. One important reason for the invasion and installation of a U.S. dominated government in Iraq was to force the country back to the dollar. Another reason for the invasion is to dissuade further OPEC momentum toward the Euro, especially from Iran- the second largest OPEC producer, who was actively discussing a switch to Euros for its oil exports.

Seems Iran has been warned

 

[Charliebox]

And now there's a 4th cable cut:

_http://www.arabianbusiness.com/510132-internet-problems-continue-with-fourth-cable-break?ln=en

 

[anart]

http://www.internettrafficreport.com/asia.htm

A look at this table certainly makes a statement... (Iran currently has 100% internet packet loss - totally cut off)

 

[baklavatsky]

Is there a 5th cable that has been cut?

"Urgent: Cable Cuts Now Total Five!"
_http://ladybroadoak.blogspot.com/2008/02/cable-cuts-now-total-five.html

 

[Charles]

Is there a 5th cable that has been cut?

"Urgent: Cable Cuts Now Total Five!"
_http://ladybroadoak.blogspot.com/2008/02/cable-cuts-now-total-five.html

By now probably nine ?

Here is another very good read and a résumé:

_http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.htm

Connecting The Many Undersea Cut Cable Dots
by Richard Sauder
4 February 2008

He sees what we see over here and some more. He also says it. Some quotes:

"In light of the American Navy's demonstrated sea-floor capabilities and espionage activities, the heavy American Navy presence in the region, the many, thinly veiled threats against Iran by both the Americans and the Israelis, and their repeated, illegal, military aggression against other nations in the region, suspicion quite naturally falls on both Israel and the United States of America. It may be that this is what the beginning of a war against Iran looks like, or perhaps it is part of a more general, larger assault against Muslim and/or Arab interests across a very wide region. Whatever the case, this is no small operation, seeing as the cables that have been cut are among the largest communication pipes in the region, and clearly represent major strategic targets."


"This could be a multipurpose operation, in part a test run for isolating a country or region from the international communications grid. The Middle East today, the USA tomorrow? "

"In any event, if the cables have been intentionally cut, then that is an aggressive act of war. I'm sure everyone in the region has gotten that message. "

"The United States may be a senescent dinosaur, and it is, but it is also a violent, heavily armed, very angry senescent dinosaur. In the end, it will do what all aged dinosaurs do: perish. But not before it first does a great deal of wild roaring and violent lashing and thrashing about. "

"This would be completely in line with articulated American military doctrine, which frankly views the Internet as something to be fought. "
So now we can add to our list of data points the professed intent of the American military to “fight the net”, using a “robust offensive suite of capabilities” in a “ full-range electronic and computer network attack.”

"Maybe this sudden spate of cut communications cables is what it looks like when the American military uses a “robust offensive suite of capabilities” and mounts an “electronic and computer network attack” in order to “fight the net” in one region of the world. They have the means, and the opportunity, I've amply demonstrated that in this article. And now we also have the motive, in their own words, from their own policy statement. The plain translation is that the American military now regards the Internet, that means the hardware such as computers, cables, modems, servers and routers, and presumably also the content it contains, and the people who communicate that content, as an adversary, as something to be fought. "

"1) The USS San Jacinto, an anti-missile AEGIS cruiser, was scheduled to dock in Haifa, Israel on 1 February 2008.

2) I have to wonder because just this past Saturday, there was a report in the news that, “Retired senior officers told Israelis ... to prepare 'rocket rooms' as protection against a rain of missiles ..."