FBI Investigating Attacks On Physical Internet Infrastructure

FBI Investigating Attacks On Physical Internet Infrastructure

Squads of Chinese hackers aren’t the only threat to internet infrastructure in the US, it would seem: the FBI is reportedly investigating “at least 11” physical attacks on high-capacity internet cables in the Bay Area dating back a year.

According to a report in USA Today, agents have confirmed that they are looking into a series of attacks, the most recent of which occurred on Tuesday morning, and did affect service for customers. Today’s attack seems to have affected ISPs Level 3 and Zayo, but FBI Special Agent Greg Wurthrich told USA Today the attacks date back to July 6 last year.

Cutting internet cables isn’t easy — the fibre-optic core tends to be protected by a strong conduit, sometimes hardened steel. Other countries have seen internet cables vandalised by thieves looking for scrap metal. It’s unclear exactly what the motive was for this series of attacks — or even if it was a coordinated series of attacks at all — but it highlights the vulnerable nature of the internet’s backbone.

[USA Today]


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