When analysts talk about geopolitical risk in the technology sector, they used to talk primarily about Taiwan. Then about chips. Now the conversation has expanded dramatically: every layer of the technology supply chain — from rare earth minerals to cloud data centres — is being mapped and scrutinised for strategic vulnerability.
The latest flashpoint is submarine data cables. More than 95% of international internet traffic travels through approximately 400 submarine cable systems. The majority of these pass through a small number of critical chokepoints: the Strait of Luzon, the Suez Canal, and the waters off the coast of Djibouti.
Intelligence assessments reviewed by several major publications suggest that at least four state actors have developed capabilities to surveil, disrupt, or sever these cables. The infrastructure that makes the global internet possible is, it turns out, remarkably physical — and therefore remarkably vulnerable.
Against this backdrop, a wave of redundancy infrastructure investment is underway. Major cloud providers are funding alternative routing. Satellite-based internet, once a niche technology, is increasingly being positioned not just as rural connectivity but as strategic backup.