The geopolitical tension in the Sea of Hormuz<\/b> increases the risk of underwater infrastructure<\/b> carrying almost all global data traffic<\/b>.<\/p>\n
In an era where the global economy <\/b>is almost entirely dependent<\/b> on the seamless flow of data,<\/b> the maritime infrastructure supporting the internet takes on a strategic importance similar<\/b> to that of energy pipelines<\/b>. Beneath the Sea Strait of Hormuz<\/b>, one of the most sensitive geopolitical points on the planet<\/b>, runs a dense network of undersea fiber optic<\/b> cables connecting Asia<\/b> to Europe<\/b> and the Middle East<\/b>, carrying almost all international internet traffic<\/b>. The concentration of such critical infrastructure<\/b> in a region of increased military and political tension<\/b> creates a unique risk to digital stability<\/b>, as any damage, accident<\/b> or targeted action could cause widespread disruption<\/b> to communications, financial transactions<\/b> and global service networks<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Iran warned a few days ago that the undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz<\/b> are a vulnerable point for the region’s digital economy<\/b>, raising concerns<\/b> about possible attacks on critical infrastructure<\/b>.<\/p>\n
The strategic waterway<\/b>, already a bottleneck for global oil transport<\/b>, is equally vital<\/b> to the digital world<\/b>. Several fibre-optic cables cross the bottom of the strait<\/b>, connecting countries from India and Southeast Asia<\/b> to Europe<\/b>, via the Gulf States and Egypt<\/b>.<\/p>\nThe critical role of undersea cables
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The seabeds are littered with vast electrical cables for power transmission and fibre-optic cables for data transmission. According to the ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for digital technologies, about 99 percent of the world’s Internet traffic is carried over undersea cables.<\/p>\n
“Downed cables mean slowed or disrupted Internet service, disruptions to e-commerce, delays in economic transactions, and severe economic impacts brought about by all these disruptions,” commented geopolitical and energy analyst Masha Kotkin.<\/p>\n
Gulf countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, are investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure to diversify their economies beyond oil. Both nations have established state-owned AI companies that serve clients across the region. All of these depend on undersea cables to transfer data at lightning speeds.<\/p>\n
The main cables running through the Strait of Hormuz include the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) pipeline, which connects Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt, with connection points in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; the FALCON network, connecting India and Sri Lanka with the Gulf countries, Sudan and Egypt; and the Gulf Bridge International Cable System, connecting all Gulf countries, including Iran. Additional networks are under construction, including a system led by Qatar’s Ooredoo.<\/p>\n
The total length of submarine cables worldwide has increased significantly between 2014 and 2025, however the number of ruptures has remained stable at around 150-200 incidents per year, according to the International Cable Protection Commission (ICPC). Government sabotage remains a risk, but 70-80% of ruptures are caused by accidental human activities or negligence – mainly fishing and ship anchors. Other risks include underwater currents, earthquakes, undersea volcanoes and hurricanes, said Alan Muldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography, noting that manufacturers address these risks by burying cables, shielding them or choosing the safest routes.<\/p>\n
The Gulf War has caused unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies and regional infrastructure, but so far undersea cables have been spared.<\/p>\n
However, there is still an indirect risk, as damaged vessels can strike and inadvertently move wire ropes dragging anchors on the seabed where the cables are located.<\/p>\n
“In a period of active military operations, the risk of unintended damage increases, and the longer this conflict lasts, the greater the likelihood,” Cotkin said. One such incident occurred in 2024, when a merchant ship attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea cut cables with its anchor.<\/p>\n
Repairing damaged cables in conflict zones is a particular and serious security challenge. While the repair itself is not technically overly complicated, repair vessel owners and insurance companies appear reluctant to undertake the work because of the risk of damage from fighting or the presence of mines.<\/p>\n
Once a conflict is over, industry players must first face the challenge of re-surveying the seabed to identify safe cable locations and avoid objects that may have been sunk during hostilities.<\/p>\n
A possible damage to undersea cables would not cause a complete loss of connectivity – due to land-based connections – but experts point out that satellite systems are not a feasible replacement as they cannot handle the same volume of traffic and are more expensive. Low Earth orbit networks, such as Starlink, are a relevant solution, but at the moment they are not scalable to millions of users,” Cotkin concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Geopolitical tension in the Strait of Hormuz is increasing the risk to undersea infrastructure that carries nearly all global data traffic.In …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}