Egyptian navy captures divers trying to cut undersea internet cables

Seems they finally caught them.  Often these stories claim some boat cut the cable dragging their anchor but, it would seem the real problem is vandals.

Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said on his Facebook page that the three men had been caught diving from an inflatable dinghy as they worked underwater to try and cut the cable at a point just north of the port city of Alexandria, AP reports. Alexandria is the main entry point for the multiple submarine cables that bring internet connectivity to Egypt.

Egyptian internet users have been suffering patchy speeds for the last week, but telecoms officials had been blaming this on damage to the cable caused by shipping. It now seems that accidental damage may not have been the cause.

My guess is that stuff like this has been going on for years, heck I'm sure it happened quite often during the cold war.  Not to sever service but rather to listen in.  One of these days the region wil finally grow up, and until then we'll have stories like this cloggin the infoNet while more pressing matters, like the latest meme photo on reddit, continue to dominate our stationary lives.

Related Web URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/egypt_cabl...