Russian spy ships threaten our internet – and bring Ireland closer to NATO
Last week, a Russian spy ship was escorted out of the Irish Sea after it spent several hours off Ireland's coast. Why was it snooping around there? One reason: underwater fibre-optic cables. 97% of the world's communications and Internet traffic goes through these subsea cables, and around three quarters of those in the Northern hemisphere pass through or near Irish waters. Knowing exactly where they are is critical for Russia. Damaged cables could seriously disrupt military and governmental communications, financial markets and energy suppliers in the West.
When the ship was escorted out, it was several kilometres away from a cluster of cables sprouting from Dublin and linking it to the US and the UK. This specific location isn't a coincidence, as the city and its surroundings are Europe's largest data centre cluster. Ireland is one of Russia's several main targets, but has been ”lucky” compared with others: on Monday evening, Finland and Germany revealed that an undersea communications cable connecting their respective data centres had been severed – probably as a result of sabotage.
Subsea cables are privately-owned, with the owners bearing responsibility for their maintenance. But in the current geopolitical climate, Ireland's role in protecting those in its waters has come under growing attention: there are concerns that the country is not sufficiently equipped to properly protect critical infrastructure. As Ireland is 'neutral', it is not part of any military alliance or defence pact (you can read here about why that is). However, threats to subsea cables have pushed the country closer to NATO, and Ireland even signed an agreement with the organisation to improve their protection.