They are the bedrock of the Internet, keeping everything from TikTok to emergency services, business, banking systems, political and military communications running smoothly.
But deeper at sea, the network of cables around British and Irish shores are becoming increasingly attractive targets for military, terrorist or criminal actors after several incidents in the Baltics where internet cables were cut and internet connections disrupted.
With 75% of all transatlantic cables passing through or near Ireland, it is of great strategic importance to the UK and Europe.
Since the cables between Finland and Estonia were cut two years ago, and another incident in November that severed links between Finland and Germany, Sweden and Lithuania, questions have been raised about who exactly secures the seabed in Ireland’s territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone. (Exclusive Economic Zone) which extends 230 miles outside the country’s shores.
Ireland is not a member of NATO and has no submarines, pursues a policy of neutrality, with one of the smallest defense forces in Europe, and spends less than countries such as Croatia, Slovakia and Portugal.
Gerard Crowell, an Irish senator who has focused his campaign on defense issues over the past decade, told The Guardian it was time for the Irish public to realize that the country’s neutrality is not a shield in modern warfare or criminality.
“It is our economy, and the economies of Europe, that are at risk. But our public has been led to believe that we are loved around the world, and no one will attack us.
“I find it very disturbing that we are selling this nonsense to the public that neutrality means we cannot defend ourselves.
Crowell added: “If a rogue actor were to release the cables, it could have a catastrophic impact not only on our economy, but on those of the UK and Europe as well.
He added: “The European Union countries are not satisfied with the open wing represented by Ireland, and Ireland has not risen to the required level.”
With $10 trillion in financial transactions daily passing through submarine cables globally, the risks are high, said the European Submarine Cable Association, which also cites everything from TikTok videos to emergency services that rely on the cable network to transmit data.
Crogwell is pressing the government on several fronts and has taken the matter to the High Court to try to determine whether there is an alleged informal secret agreement with the UK allowing the Royal Air Force to intercept any enemy flights over Irish airspace.
The case is scheduled to come to court in February. An Irish government spokesman said it does not comment on matters of national security, but that all defense policies “are undertaken in full respect of the Constitution, Irish sovereign decision-making authority and the Irish policy of military neutrality.”
Micheal Martin, the incoming Prime Minister, recently admitted that Ireland faces “new and emerging threats” because of its role as a gateway to undersea infrastructure. “The implications of the potential risks are stark,” he said at a conference on the subject in Valencia last October.
Irish and Icelandic defense representatives Met in December To discuss maritime security the Irish Government is developing a maritime security strategy.
“Irish and Icelandic waters are home to critical infrastructure that is of both national and global importance,” Jackie McCrum, Secretary-General of the Irish Ministry of Defence, acknowledged, adding that neither country was immune to global events simply because of geographical isolation.
Sturla Sigurjónsson, Iceland’s ambassador to Ireland – as well as the UK, Malta, Jordan and Qatar – and McCrum pledged to continue cooperation on security.
Robert McCabe, an academic who specializes in undersea infrastructure security and government, said Ireland currently “does not have adequate resources to monitor or respond to potential threats” with only one or two ships at sea in the event of an attack.
“Perhaps there is no border country in Europe that has invested as little, or as little for as long, in defense infrastructure as Ireland,” he said.
The associate professor at Coventry University added: “I think it’s in everyone’s interest that this infrastructure is secure and monitored, and that people understand what kind of threats it faces.”
Eoin McNamara, a research fellow in global security and governance at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said Russia was mocking Ireland not only because it was seen as a threat to the Kremlin but because of its geographic proximity to Britain.
Where the cables were located was well planned, so it was all about intimidation. “They weren’t just thinking about Ireland, they were thinking about Britain and other North Atlantic countries, many of which support Ukraine. They’re saying, ‘You guys are flexing power on our doorstep by supplying weapons to Ukraine, so we can, too,'” McNamara said. In a different hybrid way, bringing power to your doorstep and giving you something to think about.”
According to McCabe, “the best way to defend neutrality is to have a defense force.” Crowell agrees, adding that the Irish government must start an honest debate with the public.
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“We need a properly resourced defense force, equipped with modern aircraft and ships, undersea surveillance capability, basic sonar and radar, and a rapid response plan that can respond immediately to any threat, whether from Russia or anyone else,” he said.
He added that Ireland would eventually need at least three naval bases in Dublin, Donegal and Wexford, with three or four ships at sea at any given time.
“I think we need a formal role and agreement with all the countries facing the Atlantic: Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, France, Spain, Portugal and Iceland,” he said.
McNamara described Ireland as “a kind of crack or weak link” in the European landscape without the devices on its naval ships to monitor the seabed.
“Dublin is a city of great strategic importance in terms of supply chains and data centres, and conducting exercises off the coast is intimidating. “We could achieve connections that are important for the European economy,” he says.
Ireland has already been on high alert since a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, was stationed for several hours in the Irish Sea in November, operating drones and surveillance equipment. The ship itself entered UK waters on Monday this week but on this occasion did not hang around as the Royal Navy was closely tracking it. British Defense Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the Yantar ship was a Russian ship working to “map the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.”
Experts said it would be wrong to suggest that one vandalized cable could lead to a catastrophic internet outage given the huge capacity to divert data streams to the continent’s cables. But McNamara said that could lead to missing the point.
“If you can’t monitor, you won’t have evidence, you won’t be able to bring anyone to justice,” McNamara said.
McCabe said questions about protecting submarine cables were not limited to Ireland, where academics had studied a phenomenon known as “sea blindness,” suggesting a lack of political appeal that invisible undersea infrastructure has in public discourse.
He said the infrastructure is routinely maintained by the private companies that own the cables and this was not a problem. But in the event of a terrorist attack, private sector employees would not be expected to investigate, collect evidence, or at worst enter a hostile environment where they could be attacked.
“There has to be investment in the Navy. Defense forces are important, especially for a neutral nation,” McCabe said, adding that infrastructure will become more important as offshore wind farms expand.
“We are talking about the country’s energy supply. If someone wants to do something, there has to be some kind of deterrent. There is a need for monitoring and understanding if there is an escalating threat,” McCabe added.
McCabe said it “makes sense” for a country with a small navy and a large maritime area to cooperate more with countries that have larger navies and more assets.
In response to a series of questions, the Irish Ministry of Defense said it was involved in a number of security programs including six permanent EU structured cooperation projects, including those focused on protecting critical infrastructure, modernizing maritime surveillance and submerged mine countermeasures.
It is also a member of the European Defense Agency’s Maritime Surveillance Project and a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace Forum since 1999.