How vulnerable are the undersea cables connecting us all?
Virtually all internet traffic between continents travels along wires thinner than a human hair.
In our age of wireless technology, it might be hard to believe that we鈥檙e all connected by a few hundred cables running along the sea bed.
From the memes we send to friends, to the intelligence used by the military, virtually all internet data between the continents travels along wires thinner than a human hair.
If they sound vulnerable, it鈥檚 because they are. On average a hundred are accidentally severed each year.
And security experts are warning they could be a target for military or terrorist sabotage.
Caitr铆ona Perry speaks to Nicole Starosielski, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and author of The Undersea Network, who guides us through these secretive networks.
And our security correspondent Frank Gardener helps us understand how vulnerable they are.
Producers: Richard Moran and Alix Pickles
Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Hannah Montgomery
Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas
Senior news editor: Sara Wadeson
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Featured
-
.
Broadcast
- Wed 9 Oct 2024 10:32GMT大象传媒 World Service
Podcast
-
The Global Story
Global perspectives on one big story. In-depth insights from the 大象传媒