Iran's Red Sea Cable Threat: Global Internet Disruption Looms, India Vulnerable

• Iran reportedly threatens to damage undersea internet cables in the Red Sea, a move potentially more disruptive than blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
• These cables carry 17% of global traffic, including critical AI hubs in UAE and Saudi Arabia backed by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
• A disruption could lead to months of outages, impacting global AI operations, cloud services, and supply chains.
• India, despite its AI infrastructure efforts, is highly vulnerable as it relies on data flow through the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz.
• Targeted attacks on these cables are difficult to trace, and repairs in a war-like situation would be profoundly challenging.