This morning, Comparitech researchers published an analysis looking at all 48 island nations and their reliance on 126 undersea cables for access to the world’s internet.
These cables are often no thicker than a garden hose, leaving them vulnerable to damage. The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) reports 150 to 200 faults are reported on undersea cables each year. Of those, 70 to 80 percent resulted from accidental human activities, primarily anchors from shipping vessels. The rest are technical failures or natural disasters.
To gauge which of the island nations are most at risk of being cut off by accident or design, Comparitech looked at the number of undersea cables connecting them, the level of fishing activity that could cause accidental damage, and their proximity to conflict areas that could result in malicious damage.
New Zealand saw the least risk, while Brunei, Bahrain, Dominica, and Haiti were found to be at most risk. In terms of population, cable damage in Haiti would have the most significant impact due to the island’s 11.6 million population.
The full study can be read here: https://www.comparitech.com/news/cut-off-which-island-nations-are-most-vulnerable-to-undersea-cable-attacks/
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Which Island Nations Are Most Vulnerable to Undersea Cable Attacks?
This morning, Comparitech researchers published an analysis looking at all 48 island nations and their reliance on 126 undersea cables for access to the world’s internet.
These cables are often no thicker than a garden hose, leaving them vulnerable to damage. The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) reports 150 to 200 faults are reported on undersea cables each year. Of those, 70 to 80 percent resulted from accidental human activities, primarily anchors from shipping vessels. The rest are technical failures or natural disasters.
To gauge which of the island nations are most at risk of being cut off by accident or design, Comparitech looked at the number of undersea cables connecting them, the level of fishing activity that could cause accidental damage, and their proximity to conflict areas that could result in malicious damage.
New Zealand saw the least risk, while Brunei, Bahrain, Dominica, and Haiti were found to be at most risk. In terms of population, cable damage in Haiti would have the most significant impact due to the island’s 11.6 million population.
The full study can be read here: https://www.comparitech.com/news/cut-off-which-island-nations-are-most-vulnerable-to-undersea-cable-attacks/
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This entry was posted on May 13, 2026 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Comparitech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.