Microsoft Azure Outage Due To Undersea Cable Cuts Raises Serious Questions

If you had trouble or slow speeds when trying to connect to Asian websites (or vice-versa) over the weekend, you're not alone. The underlying reason for the slowdowns were a few undersea fiber cables cut nearby Jeddah, South Arabia. According to Microsoft, the cut happened around 5:45 on the morning of September 6th.

Microsoft and other cloud and connectivity services like Linode and NetBlocks were quick to report the issue. At least three cables were cut across multiple providers, so it doesn't look like this attack was targeting any one company. For its part, Microsoft (and presumably others) has rerouted its traffic to use alternative routes, at the expense of additional network latency. It also reported that traffic that didn't pass through the Middle East in the first place is not affected. Having said that, there is no estimate for how long an actual repair will take, as fixing an undersea cables is both a costly and time-consuming affair.


The cut cable count currently sits at three: SMW4, IMEWE, and FALCON GCX cables, the latter reported by the Kuwaitian authorities, according to coverage from APNews. Saudi Arabia oddly offered no comment to the publication, despite being the most-affected nation. APNews points out that Yemen's Houthi rebels were suspected to be behind a similar incident in 2024, although the group denied any involvement at the time. The Houthi TV channel reportedly covered the latest cuts, citing NetBlocks' coverage, but offered no further insight.

For its part, Yemen's internationally recognized government, who opposes the Houthis, stated that this incident "[...] cannot be isolated from the series of direct attacks carried out by the Houthi militia", and that it "[...] should serve as a wake-up call for the international community." While it's easy to think there was sabotage at play, it also wouldn't be the first time an unwitting boat captain dragged an anchor over some cables and ripped them. The undersea cable map for the region is pretty interesting, as it illustrates how condensed and fragile some of this infrastructure is.