UK military says Russia may cut undersea cables

UK, Dec 15: UK's senior military officer has said that Britain and Nato must protect the lines of undersea cables as Russia is a great threat to undersea cables.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, the chief of the defence staff, said Britain and Nato needed to prioritise protecting the lines of communication.

He said it would "immediately and potentially catastrophically" hit the economy if they were cut or disrupted.

The cables criss-cross the seabed, connecting up countries and continents.

Even the submarines are linked with cables but the protection for these cables is not strong.

An estimated 97% of global communications and $10 trillion in daily financial transactions are transmitted by cables under the ocean.

Sir Stuart said: "There is a new risk to our way of life, which is the vulnerability of the cables that criss-cross the seabeds.

"Can you imagine a scenario where those cables are cut or disrupted, which would immediately and potentially catastrophically affect both our economy and other ways of living."