Internet disruptions have been reported in the Middle East and South Asia after multiple undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, tech giant Microsoft, which has been criticised for its links to Israel as its war on Gaza rages on, said in a statement.
The statement on Sunday did not give further details about what caused the cuts.
In a status update published to its website, Microsoft said “network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea”. The global software giant said its Azure cloud computing services, the world’s second largest after Amazon, were affected by the cuts but added that general network traffic was not impacted.
“Network traffic that does not traverse through the Middle East is not impacted. We’ll continue to provide daily updates, or sooner if conditions change,” it said.
Microsoft said the disruptions started at 05:45 GMT on September 6.
The internet connectivity watchdog NetBlocks reported “degraded” internet connectivity in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and India, “resulting in slow speeds and intermittent access”.
NetBlocks said the connectivity issues were due to failures in the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan Telecommunications, one of the country’s largest telecoms providers, released a statement on X warning customers that the country “may experience some degradation during peak hours”, adding that its international partners were working to resolve the issue.
Undersea cables form the internet’s backbone, carrying global data traffic. The Middle East serves as a critical hub linking Asia and Europe. They are vulnerable to damage by ships’ anchors, but can also be targeted in attacks, which can cause widespread disruption.
In early 2024, Yemen’s internationally recognised government-in-exile alleged that the Houthis planned to attack undersea cables in the Red Sea. Several were cut, but the Houthis denied being responsible.
On Sunday morning, the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV acknowledged the cuts, citing NetBlocks.
Microsoft’s Azure has been storing information, including intercepted Palestinian phone calls in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip for Israel’s military, according to an investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call.
Microsoft has denied knowledge that Israel’s cyber-intelligence division, Unit 8200, was using its cloud services for material obtained through mass surveillance, but launched an investigation in August.
Microsoft has fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises over the firm’s ties to Israel.
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