Russian Intelligence Is Snooping Around Undersea Internet Cables

Experts fear that Russia could tap in — or cut entire countries off.

Wiretapping

GRU, Russia's foreign intelligence service, has reportedly dispatched agents to inspect the undersea internet cables that connect Europe and North America.

These undersea fiber-optic cables are the crucial infrastructure between internet, phone, and other digital networks. And Russia's presence near cables in Ireland — a crucial hub — has Irish police concerned that GRU agents could tap in and spy on other countries, according to The Sunday Times.

Even more drastically, it's resuscitated concerns that Russia might launch an attack on the cables that cuts a target nation off from the rest of the world.

Cracking The Vault

Ireland is a major hub for tech companies, Business Insider reports. Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Airbnb all have headquarters and store data in Dublin, making the country a juicy target for spies looking to extract valuable data.

And given that the Russian government fined Facebook and Twitter last week for refusing to store user data on Russian territory, it's possible that the GRU is considering more direct action.

Soft Target

The Russian presence around Ireland's undersea cables is particularly troubling because there may not be much Ireland can do about any interference.

"Ireland doesn't have a counter-intelligence capability," Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian security, told The Sunday Times. "It's a relatively soft target."

READ MORE: Russian intelligence agents reportedly went to Ireland to inspect undersea cables, and it's reigniting fears they could cut them and take entire countries offline [Business Insider]

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