Are underwater cables safe?

Most of our internet traffic – our WhatsApp chats, Netflix, TikToks, Zoom calls, and this podcast, are recorded through a handful of undersea cables that are only 25 mm in diameter.

The media loves telling stories about how one country could steal data from their adversary or cut their web connection altogether by attacking undersea cables. But how true are these claims?

How safe are the undersea cables? Can our internet access be severed and what happens then?

In this episode, Jeremy Wilks is joined by Nicole Starosielski, associate professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University Steinhardt, author of the book, The Undersea Network, and Jonas Franken, a researcher in the field of Critical Infrastructure Protection & Maritime and Information Security at the Technical University Darmstadt in Germany.

At the end of the episode, you’ll hear about an incredible North Pole experience from a Spanish adventurer Nacho Dean, the first man to have walked around the world and swam between 5 continents.

Hosted by Euronews science reporter Jeremy Wilks.

Produced by Naira Davlashyan and Natalia Oelsner.

Sound design and mixing are by Jean-Christophe Marcaud and Matthieu Duchaine.

The theme music is by Gabriel Dalmasso.

Our production coordinator is Carolyne Labbe and our editor-in-chief is Sophie Claudet.

The Ocean Calls podcast is made possible by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

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