Why the Mediterranean Is the Net's Achilles' Heel

An anonymous reader writes "A spate of broken cables has brought disruption for many of the world's Web users in 2008 — and the Med has been at the center of the problems. For political reasons, the Mediterranean Sea is an Internet bottleneck through which the majority of traffic between Europe and Asia is squeezed. That traffic must run the gauntlet of earthquakes and heavy maritime traffic to reach its destination. Better and stronger cables are urgently needed to avoid a re-occurrence of the 2008 outages."

Comments

Internet Mythology 101

[eldavojohn]

Why the Mediterranean Is the Net's Achilles' Heel

Becuase Radia Perlman held the Internet by the Mediterranean when she dipped it into the river Styx?

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[philspear]

It sounds more like this is the internet's jugular vein or carotid artery than the achilles heel, just to pointlessly analyze the metaphor. I would think the achilles heel would be people who still don't know not to click the monkey or open attachments from addresses they don't know.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[camperdave]

Don't they teach you kids Greek Mythology anymore?

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[megamerican]

No, because of physics, geology, geography and politics.

I liked the conspiracy theories better. Rational thought isn't all that much fun sometimes.

I liked the coincidence theories better. Rational thought isn't all that much fun sometimes.

The only "proof" that these lines weren't cut intentionally was that two ships were detained in Dubai (of all places) and forced to pay $10,000 to be allowed to leave.

It didn't cover the fact that the Egyptian government sent out a press release saying that they had video footage of an area where the cable was cut and it showed no ships.

Questioning the official version of events isn't a "conspiracy theory." Conspiracy happens all the time. The government is the biggest conspiracy theorist out there. They have laws against conspiring to commit just about any crime out there.

For all I know the company that owns the cables cut them on purpose so they could later get public funds to pay for infrastructure upgrades.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[gnick]

I saw a program about a guy that was actually taken prisoner for stumbling onto a fairly major conspiracy in order to keep him quiet. He had discovered that flu vaccine was being tainted in order to send people into a shopping frenzy just before the holiday season. He was taken to an island with others that had stumbled onto various things that couldn't be allowed to slip into public knowledge (the secret for turning water into gasoline, etc).

IIRC, he escaped on a boat built by another prisoner (Number 6) that was built out of toilet paper and scabs. It was small and smelly, but carried him to safety.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[Chandon Seldon]

Active conspiracy theories have yet to be proven as actually happening or have happened.

This definition sets us up for a long argument trying to classify edge cases, which may or may not result in me demonstrating a nice clean example of something that you class as a conspiracy theory later being shown to be factual. That would be an interesting point to make, but not one that I'm willing to spend a bunch of time researching right now.

I'm much more interested in cases where things that do not meet that definition - because they are well documented - get classified as conspiracy theories and dismissed. A good example is Herman and Chomsky's Propaganda Model and the associated claim that the US mainstream media act - to a very large extent - as propaganda outlets for the US DOD. This claim doesn't fit your definition at all. It doesn't even involve a conspiracy. But it still tends to get reflexively categorized and dismissed.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[Tumbleweed]

Don't they teach you kids Greek Mythology anymore?

That was the movie with Brad Pitt in it, right? I saw that and 300...what more do I need to know? :)

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[HadouKen24]

The US government funding mind control research using LSD would probably qualify. The CIA publicly admitted it in the 70's.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[Ash Vince]

hurray slow work day

Be careful, too many slow work days and you might find yourself with all the googling time you ever needed and then some.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[Molochi]

You need to rent Clash of the Titans to complete your education.

Re:Internet Mythology 101

[HeronBlademaster]

Be fair now... In the 60s and 70s, everyone was "funding mind control research" using LSD.

~

Jeez.

[girlintraining]

In the 90s it was backhoes. Now it's giant cable-eating squid. What next, volcanic eruptions? Really, the problem is two-fold -- first, cables break. Hey, it's several thousand miles long and several thousand feet down, and it's just laying there. Of course it's going to break. You could make the cables out of Unobtainium and they will still wither and break eventually. It's a fact of life. The real problem isn't that they fail, the problem is that the telecommunications companies don't have redundant links because of the expense. So, in summary, the problem is economics. And Cthulu. But you can't stop one of the great old ones, so let's focus on redundant links instead. -_-

Re:Jeez.

[y86]

In the 90s it was backhoes. Now it's giant cable-eating squid. What next, volcanic eruptions? Really, the problem is two-fold -- first, cables break

Great point. I suggest lasers.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/1999/07/14/lucent_highlights_laser_networking_system/

Re:Jeez.

[Red Flayer]

So, in summary, the problem is economics. And Cthulu.

He Who Lies Dead but Dreaming has no part to play in the damage to undersea cables, I have this on good authority. The Telcos are actually agents of Cthulhu (duh! -- you should know this by now if you've ever called telco tech support); the internet is just one of his dreams, which will serve to increase chaos and drive us all to madness.

Seriously, though, blaming the problem on economics is a copout. Why are costs to lay redundant cables so high? What can be done to convince the telcos that laying redundant cables is a good idea? What can tip the CBA to the B side?
(br>There are lots of reasons a truly redundant system is prohibitively expense. The cost of negotiating rights-of-way through multiple nations, for example. The increased costs to shipping (external cost to the telcos) from avoiding cable paths (and this is magnified with true redundancy, since redundant cables should not follow the same path). The costs of running and maintaining landlines in politically unstable areas. And, not least of all, the costs in materials, capital, and labor to run redundant lines.

The way to tip the scale in favor of running redundant lines is to either reduce the cost of doing so, or increase the benefit from doing so. How much money do the telcos lose when a line goes down? Over time, is that more than the cost of running redundant lines?

So yes, it's economics, but saying it's economics is glossing over the important details.

Re:Jeez.

[girlintraining]

Seriously, though, blaming the problem on economics is a copout.

Not all of us type "KeyserSoze 10000" at the console whenever faced with a gold shortage.

Why are costs to lay redundant cables so high?

Perhaps designing something that is several thousand miles long, and under several hundred PSI of pressure, to lay at the bottom of an environment that contains sulphuric acid plumbs, volcanic pits, and large numbers of angry monsters, is not easy.

What can be done to convince the telcos that laying redundant cables is a good idea? What can tip the CBA to the B side?

Threats of violence, regulation, and regular bombing of the opposition has worked well for us in other areas.

How much money do the telcos lose when a line goes down? Over time, is that more than the cost of running redundant lines?

Obviously, it is not more than the cost of running redundant lines or they would have done so by now.

So yes, it's economics, but saying it's economics is glossing over the important details.

Circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because...

Re:Jeez.

[Anonymous Coward]

So yes, it's economics, but saying it's economics is glossing over the important details.

Circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because circular logic works because...

I'm with you so far, but then what?

heh

[stoolpigeon]

I never had any issues any of the times this happened. I was able to do all the stuff I normally do and visit all the sites I normally visits. This leads me to conclude that the solution is rather simple. The people who are affected by these outages should do something.

easy fix

[gEvil (beta)]

I thought of something that should be a pretty simple fix. Why don't they just string the wires over the Mediterranean?

Re:easy fix

[Repton]

The Mediterranean is in the middle of the world. Any route that doesn't go through it is longer, and thus costs more. HTH!

Overstated consequences

[ninti]

The article seems a little alarmist. For instance, this line: "The 2008 outages hit local economies hard and a stronger quake could plausibly bring Mediterranean economies to their knees, by denying them access to crucial global markets for days or weeks. A 2005 study at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich calculated that a nationwide internet blackout would cost Switzerland 1% of its GDP per week." But of course a cut in the Mediterranean will not be a "nationwide internet blackout" for Switzerland much at all. In fact, if India and the mid-east gets cut off from the rest of the Internet, the rest of the world won't care all that much.

Re:Overstated consequences

[jonbryce]

If India was cut off, that would be a major problem for all the companies that have outsourced call centre and tech jobs to them, and for their customers.

Re:Overstated consequences

[Ethanol-fueled]

Fuck 'em.

That'll teach companies to move their jobs overseas. Those companies(and their overpaid executives) can cry a river to the employees they laid off only to give their jobs to India. Mods: I ask you to think about this before you mod me down, but if you want to waste your points, I don't give a fuck! :) Have a nice day.

Re:Overstated consequences

[Ethanol-fueled]

Well, to be fair, India and China can always choose not to outsource to the U.S. 20 years from now when they're rich and mighty.

It works both ways as long as so much depends on some little string threaded through the Ocean. Companies could stay rooted in one nation and deal with the ups and downs(with the benefits of academia and defense employment), or they could constantly go in circles chasing the cheap through constant relocation.

Re:Overstated consequences

[dwarg]

I considered modding you down, but decided to comment instead.

I understand your sentiment, but what you're ultimately suggesting is that we eliminate access to the internet for any country with a cheap labor pool. This punishes the citizens of those countries more than it does the execs of the major corporations that exploit them.

This story is about an international communications issue. If you want to talk about labor issues I would say this:

There are many powerful people trying to make protectionism a dirty word, if we want to fight them we have to be specific in our demands on who deserves Free Trade agreements or gets Preferred Trade Status. Protecting workers rights "over there" means increasing labor costs "over there" and makes them less appealing than local workers when you factor in communications and shipping costs (environmental protections should also figure into that equation). When they can treat their employees humanely, pay them a living wage, stop tainting the local water supply and still afford to send products to our markets cheaper than we can, then they deserve those jobs and we don't.

The problem is that we've spotted our competitors a huge advantage by not holding them to any of the standards we hold ourselves to. Which means we tied our own hands, or maybe slit our own throats.

Re:Overstated consequences

[AK Marc]

I understand your sentiment, but what you're ultimately suggesting is that we eliminate access to the internet for any country with a cheap labor pool.

I heard it as a complaint that the CEOs are looking to short-term gains and not counting the very real risk that network connectivity from the US to India may be impaired at some points. If they didn't examine and account for that risk in their calculations, then they are incompetent or liars (or both).

When they can treat their employees humanely, pay them a living wage, stop tainting the local water supply and still afford to send products to our markets cheaper than we can, then they deserve those jobs and we don't.

Which is why the US should have tarrifs on a per-country basis related to worker conditions and environmental care. If they "externalize" industry cost by dumping toxins rather than cleaning or storing them, then we should increase the cost here by that amount. They can pay for good practices or we will charge them so that they would be making the same if they did.

Re:not stronger cables... bigger mines attached ;)

[jammindice]

1. acquire non-sea europe to asia internet backbone
2. hire ships to "drop anchor" on internet cables
3. ???
4. PROFIT!!!

Gauntlet != Gantlet

[hedronist]

Arrrrgggghhhh! From Bartleby.com:

A gauntlet is "a heavy glove, often armored" or "a glove with a heavy cuff covering part of the arm." To throw down the gauntlet is to challenge someone; to pick up the gauntlet is to accept someone's challenge.

A gantlet is "a lane between two lines of people armed with staves or whips, through which someone being punished is forced to run while being clubbed or whipped by the people on either side" (run the gantlet) and, figuratively, "any series of trials and difficulties."

Grumble grumble ...

Re:Gauntlet != Gantlet

[Xolotl]

Actually gauntlet is the preferred spelling for both, although the etymology behind the use of gauntlet for punishment is different (the first meaning is from French, the second from Spanish). Gantlet is also correct, although archaic, for both.

See: gauntlet.

Re:Gauntlet != Gantlet

[Minwee]

And here I thought a 'Gantlet' was a chart which showed exactly when you would be hit with whips and staves, so that each hit would come after the ones before it and only when there were enough people and whips available to do it.

Re:It really, really does

[Anonymous Coward]

$100 will be deduced from the editor's paycheck.

Ha! Joke's on you! They pay us in SCO stock....

optical links

[NotQuiteReal]

Instead of cables, which can be broken, they could use optical links.

Due to the distance and bandwidth needed, powerful lasers would be needed.

Since vast stretches of open water need to be covered, an aquatic platform would be needed, one that could be repositioned for optimal spacing or to avoid obstacles.

Unlike other gratuitous mentions, this really is a case were we could use some frikin sharks, with frikin lasers mounted on their heads.

O Brave Achilles

[Gizzmonic]

Don't worry, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia! I know your Internet access hangs rather perilously, but calm yourself! I've written a song about it!

(somber, drum beat a la "Ballad of the Green Berets")

O Brave Achilles
Your packets spill
Through the Black Sea
and the Dardanelles

A hero bold
So proud and true
The finest bits
Traverse his tubes

But when the Fates
Judge the big wet
Will their fell looms
Cut the Internet?

(LUTE SOLO)

Re:O Brave Achilles

[eln]

Every song should have a lute solo.

Uncharted

[dj015]

Though there is abviously no excuse for the cables that have been there for a while with newer cables you often find that they have been layed straight through what was once an anchorage as they get closer to shore and nobody has "gotten around" to updating any of the charts yet. I had this situation in the Azores a while back when we anchored in what was shown in all charts and publications to be the only anchorage available only to be met on the dock by a not so friendly police man shouting something in Portuguese along the lines of we just laid a load of fiber optic cables through there and your anchor is on top of them... of course we moved immediately into the port which was what we planed to do in the afternoon but when we asked the Harbour Master why there had been no notice to mariners about the new cabled a shrug of the shoulders was the most informative answer we could get.

Re:Uncharted

[eth1]

Those cables must have been laid by amateurs. The lengths cable-layers normally go to accurately chart their cables and avoid areas where people anchor are quite impressive.

Maybe

[jollyreaper]

Maybe Cthulhu will quit trashing the lines if we offer to set him up a frame r'lyeh switch back at his pad. You know he's all about pirating the tentacle pr0n.

Re:This just in... 3 More cut, Not in the Med.

[ivan256]

It's not "just a coincidence". It's common occurance. Cable cuts happen. All the time. It's just gotten a lot of attention lately because of the attached conspiracy theorists looking to "prove" that Bush was going to attack Iran (he didn't).

If it was an attack of some sort, don't you think they'd have cut all four?

Re:Israeli wire cutting

[Dunbal]

Given the Holocaust Israel is committing right now in Gaza

      Spoken by a true student of... er, no, not history that's for sure. This isn't a holocaust, it's a mere reconnaissance in force. Call me when they start burning over 20,000 people a day for the crime of "Not Being Israeli". THEN you'll have your holocaust.

      Why do people scream "war crimes", "genocide" and "holocaust" all the time since the war in the Balkans? War is ugly. Chuck rockets at your neighbor and what do you expect? I'm sure Canada wouldn't tolerate it from the US. We'd have to invade them and burn down their White House again.

Why sea cables?

[MBGMorden]

Europe and Asia are connected by land. While it might have to divert around a few non-cooperative countries, you'd think that sufficient backbone could be laid down over land routes to all necessary countries. It seems like underwater cables would be used only when absolutely necessary (such as from North America to Europe or Austrialia to Asia - and even then satellite is available (though with higher latency and lower bandwidth).

Re:This just in... 3 More cut, Not in the Med.

[Chris Burke]

It's just gotten a lot of attention lately because of the attached conspiracy theorists looking to "prove" that Bush was going to attack Iran (he didn't).

He's still got six days left! Watch the news next Monday, I'm telling ya!