Undersea Cable Disruptions: A Threat to India's Digital Infrastructure and Connectivity
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Communication Technology, Internet Infrastructure); Geography (Map Location of Red Sea, Subsea Cable Routes); Current events of international importance (Houthi crisis).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (International Relations): The geopolitical context of the Houthi attacks and the security of sea lanes.
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T, Economy, Security): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Awareness in the fields of IT, Computers; Infrastructure: Communication; Challenges to internal security through communication networks (vulnerability of critical infrastructure).
Key Highlights from the News
Increased latency in internet traffic between India and Europe due to damaged undersea cable systems in the Red Sea.
This affected major cable systems like SEA-ME-WE 4 and IMEWE.
The incident is believed to be linked to Houthi attacks in Yemen.
Latency is the time it takes for a data packet to travel between two points. Increased latency slows down internet speed and affects video calls.
India has over a dozen submarine cable systems, allowing telecom companies to reroute traffic through other cables. Therefore, there were no widespread internet disruptions in the country.
This incident highlights the geopolitical importance and vulnerability of undersea cables, which are the backbone of the global internet.
COMMENTS