Mystery fault takes undersea internet cable between Germany and Finland out of service

Vocabulary: 187, Words: 307

1An unexplained fault in an undersea telecommunications cable linking Finland and Germany has disrupted communication services, the company that runs the link said Monday.

2The C-Lion1 cable that connects Helsinki to Rostock in Germany was built and is operated by Cinia, a state-controlled Finnish company.

3Covering a distance of nearly 1,200 kilometers (730 miles), the cable is the only direct connection of its kind between Finland and central Europe and it runs alongside other key pieces of infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power cables.

4It is unclear what caused the fault – Cinia said in a statement that it is still investigating the issue. 5However, the malfunction comes just weeks after the United States warned that it had detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables. 6Two US officials told CNN in September that the US believed Russia was now more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations on these critical pieces of infrastructure.

7The warning came after a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, which reported in April 2023 that Russia had a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in Nordic waters as part of a program of potential sabotage of underwater cables and wind farms in the region.

8The extent of the disruption caused by the fault revealed Monday is unclear. 9The most important data flows are usually routed through several different cables, to avoid overreliance on a single link.

10A repair vessel is ready to go to the site of the fault, Cinia, according to Finland’s public broadcaster, YLE. 11It said it did not know how long repairs would take, but added it typically takes between five and 15 days for submarine cables.

12Cinia did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for further details.

13This is a developing story and will be updated.

14CNN’s Paul P. Murphy and Jim Sciutto contributed reporting.

from CNN