Espionage concerns have opened up a new front in the superpower tech war: subsea cables Roughly as thick as a garden hose, undersea cables consist of multiple layers of protection around a bundle of optical fibers, which transmit data as pulses of light. 

Espionage concerns have opened up a new front in the superpower tech war: subsea cables Despite protective layers, undersea cables can easily be damaged. So in some regions, the cable is buried in a furrow in the seabed. 

Espionage concerns have opened up a new front in the superpower tech war: subsea cables Roughly as thick as a garden hose, undersea cables consist of multiple layers of protection around a bundle of optical fibers, which transmit data as pulses of light. 

Espionage concerns have opened up a new front in the superpower tech war: subsea cables Despite protective layers, undersea cables can easily be damaged. So in some regions, the cable is buried in a furrow in the seabed. 

A layer of small particles of a material derived from limestone is seen on a tray for capturing carbon at the Heirloom Carbon Technologies facility in Brisbane, California, U.S. February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Frandino 

A layer of small particles of a material derived from limestone is seen on a tray for capturing carbon at the Heirloom Carbon Technologies facility in Brisbane, California, U.S. February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Frandino 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Brand, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

A skier passes on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual temperatures near the Alpine resort of Gaschurn, Austria January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

A person carries skis towards a slope with a small layer of artificial snow between grassland amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps Filzmoos, Austria, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner 

Skiers pass on a small layer of an artificial snow slope between grassland amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Filzmoos, Austria, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner 

Skiers pass on a small layer of an artificial snow slope between grassland amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Filzmoos, Austria, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner 

Skiers pass on a small layer of an artificial snow slope between grassland amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Filzmoos, Austria, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner 

Skiers pass on a small layer of an artificial snow slope between grassland amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Filzmoos, Austria, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

Skiers pass on a small layer of artificial snow amid warmer-than-usual winter temperatures in the Alps in Leysin, Switzerland, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attends the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 20, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany 

A worker applies a thin layer of clear coat on a brass replica of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, at the Italian trophy and medal manufacturer GDE Bertoni, in Paderno Dugnano, near Milan, Italy, November 11, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo 

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola listens during a news conference in the Latvian Parliament in Riga, Latvia October 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola reacts during a news conference in the Latvian Parliament in Riga, Latvia October 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 

Former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley delivers remarks at an event for Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah Beier 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley smiles during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley greets supporters during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley looks on during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S. October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley speaks during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley speaks during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley looks on during a campaign event as she continues her tour of the state in Issaquah, Washington, U.S. October 26, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder 

Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik makes a speech at the Taiwan-Ukraine friendship reception event in Taipei, Taiwan, October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang 

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a session of the upper house of parliament ahead of a confidence vote for the new government, in Rome, Italy, October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane 

Britain's Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 

Ukrainian border guard cynologist Alina Panina, captured during the Azovstal steelworks siege in Mariupol in May and released in the recent POW exchange, reacts as he speaks with Reuters, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in undisclosed location, Ukraine October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich 

Liz Truss delivers a speech on her last day in office as British Prime Minister, outside Number 10 Downing Street , in London, Britain, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls 

Liz Truss delivers a speech on her last day in office as British Prime Minister, outside Number 10 Downing Street , in London, Britain, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls 

People walk by the booth of Picosun, a company that provides Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) thin film coating solutions for medical industries, at SEMICON Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang 

Giorgi Bidzinashvili, an archaeologist and the dig team's scientific leader, demonstrates a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Archaeologists work at a dig site following the discovery of a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Giorgi Bidzinashvili, an archaeologist and the dig team's scientific leader, demonstrates a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Giorgi Bidzinashvili, an archaeologist and the dig team's scientific leader, demonstrates a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Journalists and archaeologists gather at a dig site following the discovery of a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Archaeologists work at a dig site following the discovery of a tooth belonging to an early species of human, which was recovered from rock layers presumably dated to 1.8 million years old, near an excavation site in Dmanisi outside the village of Orozmani, Georgia, September 8, 2022. The discovery of the tooth provides yet more evidence that the mountainous south Caucasus area was likely one of the first places early humans settled after migrating out of Africa, experts said. REUTERS/David Chkhikvishvili 

Judge Rosa Weber attends a ceremony at the National Justice Council in Brasilia, Brazil, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado 

French Junior Minister in charge of Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce, Crafts Industries and Tourism Olivia Gregoire attends the MEDEF union summer forum "La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, LaREF" at the Paris Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier 

Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, attends the MEDEF union summer forum "La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, LaREF" at the Paris Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier 

Women react during a rally of relatives and friends of defenders of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, demanding to recognise Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism after killing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in a prison in Olenivka, outside of Donetsk, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

British Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss attends a Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Marden, Britain, July 23, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls 

U.S. talkshow host Oprah Winfrey arrives for the Legends Ball at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, California, May 14, 2005. REUTERS/Phil Klein 

Ronald Webb, 65, chats to his great-nephew Bane Hewlett, 7, at his home in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, April 24, 2022. The sea ice used to be 5-7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 meters) thick, hard, and covered with a thick layer of snow, now it's 3-4 feet thick and soft. "Years ago you wouldn't have that. That's kind of scary because even though the thickness is there, the hardness is not", he says. REUTERS/Melissa Renwick SEARCH "RENWICK SMARTICE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A layer of water forms on top of the ice after a sunny day, at the harbour in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, April 17, 2022. REUTERS/Melissa Renwick SEARCH "RENWICK SMARTICE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY