![A Pentagon official said it was concerned about 'any nation interfering with these cables].](https://image-prod.iol.co.za/16x9/1600/A-Pentagon-official-said-it-was-concerned-about-any-nation-interfering-with-these-cables?source=https://xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443/opencontent/objects/454d904c-3cc3-5485-a84f-e9c8efe9e157)
London - Russia could be plotting to sever the undersea communications cables that carry most global internet traffic, it has been claimed.
The US navy has recorded increased Russian activity along cables in the North Sea, off Asia and by American shores, the New York Times reported.
Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, said: “This is something the British are concerned about. The worry is they could lift up a cable and get patched into it, and draw down the data coming from it. If a war broke out they could disconnect it.”
The US tracked Russian spy ship Yantar last month travelling towards Guantanamo Bay – where a major cable begins – with deep-sea submersible vehicles that could sever cables.
Russia has said the Yantar was an oceanographic ship used for scientific research. A Pentagon official said it was concerned about “any nation interfering with these cables”.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
Daily Mail