Suspicion of Sabotage After Recent Data Cable Breaks in the Nordics
Recent incidents involving broken data cables in the Nordics have raised serious suspicions of sabotage. Two data cables linking Sweden and Finland suffered breaks, as reported by Peter Ekstedt, a press officer at the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), to the news agency TT.
Ekstedt confirmed that two fiber cables located on land in Finland were damaged, and the relevant Swedish authorities, including the government, the Swedish Civil Protection and Emergency Management Agency, and the Swedish Armed Forces, have been notified of the incidents. The Swedish Minister of Civil Defense indicated that Finnish police are currently investigating the potential for sabotage, as reported by Reuters.
The breaks were detected during the night of Tuesday, with affected areas reported in Espoo, a town near Helsinki, and the city of Vichtis. According to Niklas Ekström, Communications Director at Swedish GlobalConnect, one of the fiber breaks has already been repaired, while efforts to fix the other are ongoing.
Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne, emphasized the gravity of the situation on X, asserting that authorities are working collaboratively with GlobalConnect to investigate the incidents. GlobalConnect is a major player in the Nordic data traffic scene, handling over half of it in the region.
This incident follows previously reported damages to two underwater cables in the Baltic Sea in November, which were suspected to be acts of sabotage as well. One of these breaks occurred between Finland and Germany, while another was between Sweden and Lithuania. Investigations into these incidents have pointed suspicion towards the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3, which was present in the vicinity around the times the cable breaks occurred. As a result, Sweden has sent a formal request to China for assistance in clarifying the situation surrounding the incidents.
The Yi Peng 3 has attracted the attention of multiple nations, with ships from Denmark, Sweden, and Germany observed near the vessel as it remains in the Kattegat region outside Denmark's territorial waters but within its economic zone.
This latest scrutiny into potential sabotage is not without precedent. Back in September 2022, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines experienced similar breaks, leading to investigations of alleged sabotage by police from multiple countries. The cases surrounding those breaches remain unsolved.
As the investigation unfolds, questions loom over the security and integrity of critical infrastructure in the region. Decisions and responses from authorities will no doubt shape the future landscape of data communication in the Nordics and the overall geopolitical dynamics relating to infrastructure security.
Related Sources: