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SplicedWire
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Join Date: Jun 2015
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How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/30/2015 2:17 PM

Telecommunication breakdown has been recently occurring in San Francisco which has been plagued by an unknown person or group of people cutting the fiber optic cables below the streets of the city. Here is The New York Times article stating the FBI does not know who is responsible for disrupting the Bay Area's communications.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/sunday-review/the-cyberthreat-under-the-street.html

What if the global connections were to be cut? Here is another article from Forbes that questions the cost of cutting the undersea fiber optic cables.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2015/11/02/russian-navy-probing-u-s-undersea-communications-cables-in-new-global-threat/

What technology could be used to prevent the cutting of the cables that connects the world?
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Pathfinder Tags: communication cutting FBI fiber optic San Francisco
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lyn
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#4
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Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/30/2015 5:47 PM

From the "Let's be Real" link: "Some 70 percent of cable faults are caused by ship anchors and fishing trawlers that inadvertently snag a comms cable."
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ozzb
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#2

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/30/2015 3:21 PM

You can't prevent them from being cut. That why there are redundant cables ran.

This system has no cables to cut. If necessary the information can be sent though these.

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SHOCKHISCAN
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#3

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/30/2015 5:39 PM

I am pretty sure that encasing the fiber-optic cable in a 500KV double-layered woven shield with inside & outside insulated armored coatings would severely limit any attempts to cut any communications cable by humans.

However, the cost for procurement, installation, and maintenance of such a system would be outrageous and probably rule out the possibility of anyone pursuing the idea.

One thing for sure; HV protection would provide a very easy way to pinpoint the location where any attempt is made to cut the cable.

Just look for the burning pieces and high concentration of sharks in the area.

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Don from Oz
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#5

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/30/2015 10:32 PM

More duplication along different paths .... also HV charged!

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Rixter
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#6

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/31/2015 7:44 AM

Undersea cables are well armored in shallow water to help protect them from ships' anchors. Most vandals don't have the technology to operate in deep water. If a cable fault occurs, traffic is routed through another cable.
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Fredski
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#7

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/31/2015 8:58 AM

its shark/electrical pulse thing
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JE in Chicago
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#8
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Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/31/2015 11:40 AM

The fact that the cable looks like a nice piece of rawhide doesn't help.

One my dogs nicknames is pigshark

On a serious note. I can only imagine it's some criminal who get's paid to fix the damage that would wish to damage an underground fiber optic network. Anyone else wouldn't have the knowledge or the desire.

I would make sure the stuff is locked up and monitored with a hidden game cam at the very least.

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SHOCKHISCAN
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#9
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Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/31/2015 2:50 PM

Or terrorism?

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JE in Chicago
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#12
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Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

01/01/2016 5:44 PM

The article said 2 or 3 cuts were made in each instance. That's making work, not terrorism.

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SolarEagle
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#10

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

12/31/2015 3:11 PM

Thousands of autonomous crab robots patrolling the cables with weapons systems capable of dealing with any threat...

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Wal
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#11

Re: How Do You Protect the Fiber Optic Cables That Allow Global Communication?

01/01/2016 12:47 AM

Physical hardening stops vandalism/accidental damage at easy access points only.

The HV idea is old and is already there. It is used to energise the repeaters enroute. Not a deterrent at all.

The real protection is redundancy, loop protection and route diversity.

Then there's the story of a major communications facilities that had all its fibres enter at one point in the building. Of course a truck went right through that single point of entry one day.

A coordinated motivated team with the right information could still cause some disruption.

It's a little like protecting passenger jets and trade routes......

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Don from Oz (1); Fredski (1); JE in Chicago (2); lyn (2); ozzb (1); Rixter (1); SHOCKHISCAN (2); SolarEagle (1); Wal (1)

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