Recently, several cases of cable sabotage have come to attention. At the end of November, several data cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea after a Chinese ship allegedly let the anchor drag along the bottom. Experts assess that it may be about Russian sabotage and part of the hybrid warfare the country is engaged in.
In addition, this week there was information about double cable breaks on internet fiber cables between Finland and Sweden, an event that was initially investigated as sabotage but where most things now point to it being a mistake.
The events have prompted a discussion about network security in Sweden and how well equipped Sweden’s digital infrastructure is.
– The coordination is not at the level it should be, says Patrik Fältström, security protection manager at Netnod.
At the same time, he explains that authorities and ministries still do good things individually, but that responsibility is spread out.
– Regulations don’t really match, it’s something you have to do better, he says.
“Worries people like me”
Regardless of whether it is sabotage or an accident, what is broken must be repaired. The risk points are far too many, according to Patrik Fältström.
– There are far too many so-called “single points of failure”, which can be attacked but which can also have major consequences if things go wrong for other reasons, he says.
One reason why coordination is important is because stability is solved by having multiple alternative systems, he explains.
– The Internet connection does not go slower when a cable breaks, but everything works normally until one too many cables break. The problem is that we don’t really know how many cords we have, and how many we have in reserve. There is a lot to do there, which makes people like me a little worried, says Patrik Fältström.
– The situation is unfortunately relatively bad in Sweden.
Stockholm sensitive point
Many of the data centers are focused on the Stockholm area, which means that the information is located there. The fiber cables are also routed via the capital.
– If two people in Norrland want to communicate with each other, the traffic goes to Stockholm and back again.
The same applies to Gothenburg, he points out, which is fragile if Stockholm were to be eliminated. The solution is to, like war-torn Ukraine, build a net-like network, so that the fibers go “a little here and a little there”. Then the resistance will be greater.
– We have concentrated a little too much on Stockholm. However, on the other hand, individual organizations may have a backup data center in another place in Sweden. Then it applies that you can use it instead, and it is for such situations that coordination is needed, says Patrik Fältström.