Thawing ice in the Arctic may open up new routes for internet cables that lie at the bottom of the ocean and carry most international data traffic. And more routes matter when underwater infrastructure is at risk of attack.
Baltic Sea gas and telecoms cables were damaged last year, with a Chinese vessel a potential suspect.
Red Sea data cables were cut earlier this month after a Yemeni government warning of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Over 90 percent of all Europe-Asia traffic flows through the Red Sea route.
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The problem of critical data relying on only one path is clear.
