U.S. authorities have privately alerted telecom companies about the potential susceptibility of undersea internet cables in the Pacific Ocean to meddling by Chinese repair ships.
What Happened: U.S. State Department officials have raised concerns regarding S.B. Submarine Systems, a state-controlled Chinese firm involved in the repair of international cables.
The company's ships allegedly hide their locations from radio and satellite tracking services, an action that officials find puzzling, reported The Wall Street Journal.
This warning highlights a previously overlooked security risk to undersea fiber-optic cables. Tech giants such as Google and Meta Platforms, who co-own many cables, depend on specialized construction and repair companies for maintenance.
Some of these firms, including those with foreign ownership, are feared to threaten the security ...