‘Malign actors’: Ireland fears Russia could threaten undersea cables

Wexford, Ireland – They cross the ocean floor between continents, carrying nearly all our data, from messages and calls to trillions of dollars in financial transactions each day. Subsea cables underpin global communications and power economies, but they are also increasingly seen as vulnerable to sabotage.

About 75 percent of transatlantic subsea cables pass through or near Irish waters, according to the Irish government, connecting North America with Europe – giving the small European Union member outsized strategic importance. Ireland is also a major hub for United States tech multinationals, including Google, Microsoft and Meta, with a growing concentration of data centres supporting the digital economy.

But increased activity by Russian vessels near undersea infrastructure in recent years has raised concerns that cables around Ireland could become targets of interference.