Internet Fiber Backbone Lines Under Physical Attack In San Francisco
Apparently this has been going on for a year and includes at least 11 malicious incidents. Federal agents confirmed to USA Today that the Tuesday attack disrupted Internet service for businesses and residential customers in Sacramento and surrounding areas.
"When it affects multiple companies and cities, it does become disturbing," FBI Special Agent Greg Wuthrich said. "We definitely need the public's assistance."
The FBI is only willing to say so much because the investigation is ongoing. However, it's known that the Tuesday attack involved someone breaking into an underground vault and severing three fiber-optic cables. They belonged to Level 3 and Zayo, both of which are ISPs located in Colorado.
While unfortunate, these types of incidents aren't unprecedented. Cables at four sites in California were maliciously cut back in April 2009, and early this year, tens of thousands of Arizona residents lost Internet service when someone cut underground cables.
What's frightening about the attacks is that they're concentrated in one region of the country. Rock Security CEO JJ Thompson says that could mean attackers are "testing out capabilities, response times, and impact."
