Conspiracy theories behind cut internet cables
Reports that a fifth undersea communications cable in the Middle East has been damaged in less than a week — further compromising Internet access in countries there, and knocking Iran off the grid entirely – are triggering wild conspiracy theories about who’s at fault, from Islamic extremists to the CIA. But BizTech readers can proceed with global business as planned: the reports aren’t true. So says Stephan Beckert, research director at TeleGeography, who studies these cables for a living. Beckert tells the Business Technology Blog that he hasn’t heard anything about a fifth cable from his sources in the industry and that the newspaper that reported the outage, the Khaleej Times in the United Arab Emirates, seems to have double counted two of the cables and missed a fourth one entirely.
Beckert says that the most likely explanation is that a fishing boat damaged the cables by catching them in its net or that a ship accidentally cut them with its anchor – these are responsible for 65% and 18% of cable problems respectively. The first two cables were only 400 yards apart, suggesting that they were damaged in the same incident. “It might have been sharks with laser beams on their heads but I’m guessing it’s not,” says Beckert. Viewed this way, it’s two incidents in a week, which is higher than average but not unusual – last year their were 50 damaged cables in the Atlantic alone. What about other conspiracy theories? Beckert doesn’t understand why the U.S. military would cut the cables, seeing as its service men in the Gulf use them to communicate with their families. And a lone saboteur is out of the question because the cables are “awfully deep for a wet suit.” And he’s ruling out Islamic extremists who want to disconnect the Middle East from the rest of the world. “All it’s done is demonstrate how tied to the rest of the world they are,” he says. That leaves an accident. Or those laser-equipped sharks.
Source: WSJ
Comments(76)
Funny
Jacques Cousteau did it !
“Beckert doesn’t understand why the U.S. military would cut the cables, seeing as its service men in the Gulf use them to communicate with their families.”
lol, that’s like saying “I don’t think the CIA killed Kennedy because the CIA is paid by the government and Kennedy ran the government.”
I don’t think anyone cut these cables, just saying, it’s some pretty weak logic he’s using there.
Their responsible for 65% and 18% of cable problems, wtf.
I still think its the sharks with the lazer beams hired by the cia but contracted out by the dolphins from the simpson
lol
@4
“..the most likely explanation is that a fishing boat damaged the cables by catching them in its net or that a ship accidentally cut them with its anchor – these are responsible for 65% and 18% of cable problems respectively.”
Fishing net: 65%
Anchor:18%
Other stuff (CIA, Laser Sharks, Moon Beams etc): 18%
Hmm not impossible that the cables were indeed cut by something in the water using some kind of laser technology or even more advanced. Don’t know if they would gain any advantages from doing this but yeah, not IMPOSSIBLE
!
I wondered what those sea bass were up to since the Austin Powers movie!
Hi folks.
No need to panic, our troops can manage for a week or two while the special Ops guys install hi-tech surveillance equipment on all those cables.
HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. is picking up the tab for anyone interested.
Sincerely
Gen Michael V. Hayden, USAF
no need to panic..just go fix that..lol
You mean Persian Gulf by “The Gulf”?
it´s the first time thay i heard of 2 cables cut at the same time very strange.
Maybe are hackers with laser-sharks.
Now bush can make war to torrent sites.
Nuke will have a different meaning in the scene.
Maybe Killer whales cut cables just for fun.
Arghhh!! Japan people, you were right.
That’s why you don’t have whales in your waters.
All the whales of the world are conspirating to destroy our civilization and It’s our labour destroy them or be destroyed!!
REVEEEEEEEEEEEENGE!!!!!
just look at this documentary and a lot will become clear:
ZEITGEIST
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331
(about religion, money, oil, world domination)
(source: http://deepthought.be)
oh well. no need to worry abt them alien from above. now we have much more competions – sharks with sharp teeths AND laser beams. wtf is next
better fix those cables fast or i m going WiFi.
anybody, somebody, whats the fastest we can get on WiFi Torrents
Sorry about that accidentaly hit it, wont happen again, ill try to look next time.
your sincerely
Captain Nemo
“The first two cables were only 400 yards apart, suggesting that they were damaged in the same incident”
Thats either 1 big anchor or some one going way to fast.
These statics might be true, but definitely not on this case. saying that fishnet might have damaged something at 350 meters draught sounds like a nasty joke. whoever knows anything about fisherman from these parts should know that. And in case where we are talking about 400 yards (that equals more than 350meters) and maximum anchor lenght with “only” about 200 meters with more than a half required to be laying on the seabad, how on earth is that possible?
the laser sharks got hacked by the scene in order to stop their superb rls’es form getting to p2p networks
Argh, shiver me timbers! them cables were on our way
I assume no one took dr. Evil’s threat after his picture I created didn’t win in the Releaselog birthday competition into serious consideration… Well, it’s PAYBACK time!!!
Relax. We are trying to watch how Osama is going to re-route his internet communication. I know we have to inconvenient a lot of internet friends to accomplish this.
Its the cloverfield monster!! He’s cutting the cords! we’re all doomed! First he’s going to disconnect everyone from each other so we can’t warn others… then he will take rampage on the earth! lol… sorry smoked a bit to much this morning
Its Dolphins with frikkin lazers on their heads, not sharks. The U.S has had them for years.
Also, not understanding why anyone would want to cut the lines doesn’t make it improbable. Anchors? 1 line perhaps, but several at the same time, hmm? I don’t believe in freak coincidences. Someone is cutting off communications from the middle-east. Why will probably come shortly.
you shill…www.godlikeproductions.com
Im from IRAN,
AND I HATE DIPLOMACY :-&
my download speed is betwenn 1 and 2.5 KB per second ;;)
My money’s on the lazerz
ok, even four cables is pretty unusual, guys…
the 400 yards was horizontal distance apart, the bad news – the `gyptians reported no vessel in the areas, where the double was cut. usually these areas are off-limits for commercial waterways and expressly noted on navigational maps, where they indeed cross them…
the worse thing: IRANIAN OIL BOURSE was scheduled to begin trading conveniently in this same time period. and the worst thing for Uncle Sam – with prices in Euros, not dollars. this is really the scary part. it really beats me.
I don’t support the Iranians, but they can compete with de goode olde UncleSam for subversiveness..
shivers…
Apparently it is now more like 8 or 9 cables cut. Keep up with this stuff at http://www.godlikeproductions.com
#24: That’s true, US army has trained dolphins that have lasers on attached on their heads. The purpose was to use the lasers to burn holes to enemy ships.
The funny thing is, the dolphins with lasers attached to they heads were being trained in New Orleans, in the sea in a fenced area. When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the water rose and the dolphins got out of the fence. There hasn’t been any reporting of what ever happened to the dolphins.
Don’t believe me? here’s the proof you silly goose
I was initially thinking of a US sub tap gone wrong when we got to #3, but know that we are at 4 or 5 (or whatever by the time this gets posted) I would not be in the least surprised to hear in about 20y that it was done on purpose to create uncertainty about communications in the region.
If it WAS, you get the small (bad?) side effect of everyone and their brother running patrols in the region possibly setting off some gunfire exchanges.
Thankfully they are right around the corner of laying down some MUCH tougher pipelines that would make accidental cuttings almost impossible… could it be THIS company drumming up business faster?
Stop spreading paranoia and disinformation
(Thu Feb 7, 2008)
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Repairs on two out of three broken undersea cables providing data services to parts of the Middle East and Asia should be completed by Sunday, while the third should be fixed by Saturday, cable operators said.
thx for deleting the post that had the working link and leaving the one with the broken one.
The first one has the broken link
Also, according to CNN:
After the Persian Gulf cut, a FLAG official in India, speaking on condition of anonymity because of company policy, said workers were still trying to determine how the cable was cut. He declined to comment on whether the two cuts were somehow linked but said he did not believe FLAG’s cables were deliberately targeted.
Of course, who knows these things better than RLSLog readers..
This is not about USA… I think iran is doing this subversions becouse this days are near 22BAHMAN our revolution winning… and my 90% of my people dont like this revolution and they want A.H.M.A.D.Y N.E.J.A.D get lost!
Iran did this and said it takes 3weeks to repair the cables! in 3weeks! 22BAHMAN is pass! and they’ll get what they want
((Sorry for my English))
@9 : Hey Michael how are you ? It’s me Richard.I like your idea about placing an High Tech surveillance system to watch the cables but i don’t think we should send the Spec Ops to do it.Halliburton would be a much better choice for the job.
I’ll be sure to mention the idea to George.
I still think that carpet bombing Iran into the stone age should be our first priority though considering the success we had with Iraq.
Take care
Sincerely yours
Vice President Richard.B.Cheney
i don’t like the arabs. See how uncivilised they are again? cutting some cables and stuff like that
MAWR LAZR!!!
Okay, get out the underwater soldering irons!
I always thought data like that went through satilites.
That’s why I’m so anti immigration, if you leave in the Arabs you’ll find that pretty soon they’ll start cutting cables. Before we know where we are our TV signals will be gone and the women folk will be wearing sheets on their heads.
It could be mercenaries working for the US, or it could be the north korea or one of of many factions inside those countires this effects. This is one of the bad things about underwater cables.. Easy access to destroy communication of the local people, while military installations have satphones etc.
i’ll go with the laser sharks, seems the most likely cause
Yeah, Egypt’s transport ministry said they looked at video footage from 12 hours before till 12 hours after the cables were cut, and no ships were seen. The first cut was explained from a ship going offcourse due to bad weather (an abandoned anchor was found nearby weighing 5 to 6 tonnes), but the other 4 cuts still remain a mystery… Five cuts in less than four days must have some sort of sabotage. It could have been an earthquake, but there wasn’t any seismic activity, sooo I’m guessing that this could be deliberate.
OOR it could have been sharks or dolphins with lasers, Godzilla, the Cloverfield monster, my mother, your mother, OUR mothers, a random coincidence of a buttload of anchors, Chef Boyarde with his kitchen knife set, yo mama thinking it was a twizzler, yo mama trying to tie her shoe, yo mama tripping over all that seaweed in the “shallow water,” and the list goes on…
Ron Paul would say we should all run away from that area and only pay attention to ourselves.
Like hiding our heads in the sand.
just finished testing special anchor for cutting under water cables
what is the gulf?
it’s persian gulf! write it right or dont do it at all.
Sharks with fricken lazer beams attached to their heads!
This whole this is probably a publicity stunt for Austin Powers 4. ^_^
what a joke im sure a fishing net caught a 7 layered steel cable 5 times and ripped it to shreds. way to consume garbage reports by some joke of an expert rlslog.
28. has an interesting point!
If it stopped the Iran oil trade -it’s the CIA. Allowing oil to be traded in euros is going to hurt our economy bad. The value of the dollar is tied to oil. Watch “The energy non crisis” on google video.
@51, was that directed at me?! I was just joking, if the yo mama jokes and monster cracks didn’t give it away! haha
@53 no it wasnt it was at rlslog for posting this garbage and not using common sense or researching it at all.
I’m thinking it was MrX!
but seriusly, if you look at the map on where these cabels were located, then look on a map that has fault lines, then when you see if those fault lines were active at the time the cabels broke, you can see they were!
Id post more details but the other post i made is on my labtop which keeps giving me the blue screen of death when i turn it on after a few min
yes.its totally rediculus to say that an ancor did this.and a fishing net is just pure silly.these cables are dug in the buttom and dont just lie exposed.an ship anchor no matter how big wont come close to those cables.its not the anchor holding a ship,but the combined weight of the chain and anchor.and dragging an anchor,really is not possible or smart.
proberbly also the main concern besides shifting of landmasses.
would have been anchors,i think this aspect is covered.
‘You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!’
…anyone remember Mr.Evil?Looks like he’s back lol
it was me…
Submarine and Aquaman were playing volley ball with swordfish.
The same dolphin trained by the CIA that killed JFK is responsible for cutting the cable. That same dolphin is last seen turning tricks at Sea World.
Lets not forget about those UFOs bases under water.
I think they are tapping in the cable to get HBO. lol
..and the lochness monster too..
Some of the commentors here would make good money being comedians or writers for Jay Leno IMHO.
http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.htm
ialamic millitants cutting off the middle east from the world? hell if only
@38
Hey RC, I’ve sent the carpet bombing report to your office, you should have it in the morning, something to read over breakfast
Re: Special Ops and the installation of the hi-tech surveillance equipment, let’s see how that pans out first.
As stated in the planning report, its best that Halliburton ‘maintain’ a low profile regarding this operation for now and anyhow, there’s far more money to be made in the maintenance of the equip in the long term.
M Hayden
PS. Golf this Sunday?
Uninformed people are what starts conspiracies.
Undersea communication cables don’t always sit on the ocean floor, let alone being dug in/buried. Do you know how deep some of the worlds oceans are that have cables running through them? If they were all to sit in the ocean floor they’d need up to 6x the amount of cable in some cases, and who is going to pay for that? If the water they traverse is shallow enough then yes they’ll sit on the bottom. If the water is even shallower then they might be buried into the bottom (but hardly, unless it’s a very busy and shallow shipping lane).
Undersea cables are usually only run deep enough so that they’re mostly (not entirely) safe from human activity, not all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
And no it’s not stupid fault lines. Tectonic plates move at a rate of of just a few centimetres a year. Undersea cables move and stretch more than that just from undersea currents/tides that occur everyday. Your hair grows faster than that in a month
And if you’ve ever actually ever been out on boats out on the sea in your life you may know that the standard technique for trying to stablise a boat in rough seas is to drag an anchor, and boats that go out to sea carry long anchor ropes for that purpose. Fishing trawlers have things that hang out the sides of the boats for the exact same purpose. Most undersea cables are usually accidentally cut because boats/ships get nets/anchors caught on the cables. The reason you don’t hear about the other 98% of cables being cut around the world, is because there is usually a lot more redundant cables with excess capacity for the exact purpose of maintaining communications should other cables get cut. It’s obvious here that these countries that have been cut off rely very heavily on a small number of undersea cables, most probably because they can’t afford to lay extra cables because of the high cost. These are developing nations, they don’t have all the money in the world. If you live in a developed country, think about how your own politicians always go on about how there isn’t enough money to fund this or that or pay for some project. If a developed country can complain of lack of money then what hope do you think a developing nation has?
oh and I might also add, it’s not known how deep some parts of the worlds oceans are, because some a so deep it’s beyond current technology to be able to get an accurate measurement
@68
So you reckon that all the media hype at the moment is accidental too? Wake up to what’s really going on man, sheesh! What a lot of hot air…
i did it
@67 its hilarious that a poster on rlslog has a much more plausible and well informed idea of what happened compared to this ‘expert’. if that was infact directed at me, im not making a conspiracy theory in the least. I’m saying that this ‘expert’ has possibly the worst theory of what happened that i’ve ever seen.
It was those 80’s cartoon characters the Snorks.
They r pissed off that other 80’s shows r being re-made and they being ignored.
And if it’s not the snorks, might b those samurai pizza cat’s.
Pfft. how stupid do they think people can be? Common sense dictates that something is going on. Why and how they’re doing it requires research. It doesn’t hurt your brain to use it and actually theorize tho.
If you ask me, I would say powers from within our government (and/or connected powers from other governments) is/are causing this. And why, I would say they got something planned for the middle east (something heavier then is happening now)… perhaps a nuke will go off soon or something to that effect. But whatever the reason why, they certainly don’t want the people in the middle east communicating outside of there and spreading information that can quickly reach the rest of the world.
DEX my man, you should know that cousteau is dead for a long time
Ooooh Laaaawd…..Oooooh Laaaaaaaawd….Them dolphins are going to kill us all ooooh laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd!!!
JEWS DID WTC!!!!!!!!!1111onoeneoneoeneoneoeneon
Titanic was a conspiracy