Ocean Calls - Are underwater cables safe?

Are underwater cables safe?

05/11/23 • 35 min

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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?

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Are marine heatwaves changing the Mediterranean forever?

The Med is getting heatstroke. From May to August last year, nearly the entire surface of the Mediterranean was hit by marine heatwaves. Why are the heatwaves happening, what's the impact on corals and fish, and can we do anything about it?

To discuss this troubling rise in temperatures, Euronews science reporter Jeremy Wilks is joined by Joachim Garrabou, Senior Researcher from the Spanish National Research Council and Emma Cebrian, a researcher at the Centre of Advanced Studies of Blanes in Spain.

And at the end of the episode renowned Swiss explorer and innovator, Bertrand Piccard, the first man to fly around the world in solar powered aircraft tells us a moving tale of his family's ocean exploits.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

What's the future of Europe's young fishers?

Fishing is believed to be one of the oldest professions in the world, with evidence of this activity dating back to prehistoric times.

According to the European Commission, in 2018 more than 150,000 people worked in the fishing industry in the European Union, but this number is declining.

An ageing workforce, lack of investment, safety concerns, and sustainability challenges are just some of the difficulties that this sector is facing.

In this episode, Euronews science reporter, Jeremy Wilks, discusses the future of European fishing communities with Anna Carlson, Fishery Officer for Socio-economic Issues at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

Our second guest is Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, President of the European Association of Fish Producers Organisations.

And at the end of the episode, Captain Peter Hammarstedt, the Director of Campaigns for Sea Shepherd, shares a personal and moving story of saving a pilot whale.

Thanks to Melvin van der Niet and Ton van Duijn from the STC scheepvaart en transport college, in Katwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, and to Vicente Alfonso, from Gandia in Valencia, Spain, for talking to us about their experience as fishermen.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.