Red Sea submarine cable break hits Microsoft's cloud services

In today's digital age, the internet has become critical infrastructure for the global economy and society. As the "information superhighway" carrying the vast majority of international data transmission, the security and stability of submarine cables are crucial. On September 6, 2025, shocking news broke: multiple submarine cables in the Red Sea region had been severed. This incident quickly garnered global attention, particularly impacting users and businesses relying on Microsoft Azure cloud services.

Microsoft Officially Confirms Cable Severity, Cloud Services Face Severe Challenges

On September 6, local time, Microsoft published an announcement on its Azure Service Status page, officially confirming the severed submarine cables in the Red Sea region. This news was like a bombshell, instantly sending shockwaves through the tech and business worlds. Microsoft stated that the severed submarine cables caused significant delays in data transmission between Asia and Europe and through the Middle East, and some users relying on network connections in the region "may experience service interruptions."

Microsoft Azure, one of the world's leading cloud service platforms, provides a wide range of cloud services, including computing, storage, and data analytics, to countless businesses and individuals. From the daily operations of small and medium-sized enterprises to the core businesses of large multinational corporations, the stable operation of Azure is crucial to the smooth functioning of the global economy. This submarine cable cut undoubtedly poses a significant challenge to Azure cloud services.

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The impact is widespread, with network connectivity in the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe severely impacted.

The Red Sea region occupies a crucial position in the global network architecture, serving as a critical communications hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. Numerous important submarine cables crisscross this area, carrying vast amounts of data. The severed submarine cables have directly impacted network connectivity in the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe.

In South Asia, countries like India and Pakistan have experienced noticeable slowdowns in internet speeds. Local users have reported significantly longer web page load times, severe lag in online videos, and even inability to function properly in some network-dependent applications. Enterprise users have been even more significantly impacted. Many companies rely on cloud services and real-time data transmission for their operations. The surge in network latency has significantly reduced productivity, even bringing some operations to a standstill.

In the Middle East, Gulf states like the UAE and Kuwait have also been affected. Core industries in these countries, such as finance and trade, are highly dependent on the internet. Unstable network connectivity has created significant uncertainty for local economic activity. For example, the Dubai Stock Exchange's trading system experienced latency alerts, impacting some high-frequency trading and forcing traders to contend with slow order execution.

Europe was also affected. While network connectivity hasn't been completely disrupted, increased latency has hindered cross-border business between Europe and Asia. Multinational companies are facing difficulties with remote work and data synchronization, and their global supply chain management has also been impacted to varying degrees.

Critical fiber optic cable systems were damaged, forcing international traffic to be diverted.

According to an investigation by network monitoring agency NetBlocks, the primary damage occurred to the SEA-ME-WE-4 and IMEWE submarine cable systems. These two cables are considered the "digital arteries" connecting Asia and Europe and are core long-distance fiber optic cable systems.

The SEA-ME-WE-4 system, approximately 20,000 kilometers long, connects 14 countries, from France to Singapore, and plays a vital role in global network communications. It not only carries a large amount of internet traffic from ordinary users but also supports data transmission for numerous technology giants and multinational corporations. The IMEWE fiber optic cable, which runs from India to Europe and boasts a total bandwidth of 3.84 Tbps, carries a significant amount of data exchange between Asia and Europe.

Due to the disruption of these two critical fiber optic cable systems, international traffic was forced to seek alternative routes. Microsoft's engineering teams quickly took action, deploying different network capacity options to reroute traffic. However, these alternative routes are often longer, requiring data to travel further, much like taking a longer route during a traffic jam, which naturally slows down data transmission. Normally, latency from Asia to Europe (via the Red Sea) is approximately 150-180ms. After the disruption, latency increased significantly to approximately 200-250ms, and even higher in some areas. This increased latency poses significant challenges for real-time applications such as online gaming, video conferencing, and financial transactions.

Repair work is fraught with difficulties, and the timeframe is unpredictable.

Repairing submarine cables is always a difficult and complex undertaking, and the recent Red Sea cable break presented numerous challenges. First, the submarine operations themselves are extremely challenging. Specialized vessels and specialized equipment are required to locate and repair damaged optical cables in deep-sea environments. Furthermore, repair work is subject to natural factors such as weather and sea conditions, and even the slightest misstep could lead to interruptions or errors.

Secondly, the tense geopolitical situation in the Red Sea region adds significant uncertainty to the repair effort. In recent years, Yemeni Houthi rebels have been active in the region, attacking passing ships. This poses a safety risk to repair vessels operating in the area. To ensure the safety of repair personnel and vessels, coordination with multiple navies and securing safe operating windows are required, which undoubtedly increases the complexity and timeliness of the repair effort.

Based on past experience, similar submarine cable repairs typically take weeks or even months. During this period, Microsoft Azure cloud services and other services that rely on the region's network connectivity will continue to experience network latency and instability. Microsoft stated that it will continuously monitor network data and optimize routing paths to minimize user impact. It will provide daily updates on progress, but the specific repair timeline remains difficult to estimate. Businesses and users are affected, and response measures urgently need to be strengthened.The Red Sea submarine cable break incident has had a significant impact on businesses and users relying on Microsoft Azure cloud services. For businesses, increased network latency has led to decreased business efficiency and increased operating costs. For multinational companies that rely on real-time data synchronization, such as those in manufacturing and logistics, production and supply chain management have been disrupted. For example, India's Tata Group experienced a 60% drop in the response speed of its cloud-based ERP system, forcing several automotive plants to switch to local backup mode, which not only impacted production schedules but also potentially resulted in additional costs.For ordinary users, while they may not directly experience a network outage, they will notice a noticeable slowdown when using cloud-based applications. Issues such as stuttering in online games, choppy video playback, and slow file downloads have severely impacted the user experience.In the face of such situations, businesses and users need to take appropriate countermeasures. Microsoft recommends that users closely monitor latency in their own businesses, plan cross-continental data transfers appropriately, and monitor official Microsoft announcements and patch progress. Businesses can consider establishing more distributed data backup and transmission paths to reduce reliance on single network lines and enhance business resilience. For example, some companies are beginning to explore the use of satellite communications as a backup solution. Although satellite communications are costly and have limited bandwidth, they can be used as a contingency measure in emergencies to ensure the continuity of critical business operations.

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Exposing the vulnerability of global digital infrastructure and prompting reflection on cybersecurity

The Red Sea submarine cable break incident was more than just a simple technical failure; it exposed the vulnerability of global digital infrastructure. In today's rapidly developing global economy and society, economies and societies are increasingly dependent on the internet. However, submarine cables, as core internet infrastructure, face numerous potential risks.

From natural disasters to sabotage, from ships running aground to geopolitical conflicts, submarine cables can pose threats. Once these critical network lines fail, the impact can quickly spread globally, severely impacting economies, societies, and people's lives. This incident has also sparked in-depth reflection on cybersecurity. How to strengthen the protection of critical digital infrastructure, such as submarine cables, and how to establish more comprehensive network emergency response mechanisms have become important issues facing governments, businesses, and research institutions worldwide.

With the continuous advancement of technology, perhaps more advanced network architectures and communication technologies will emerge in the future, reducing reliance on traditional submarine cables. However, at this stage, strengthening the protection and maintenance of existing infrastructure and improving network redundancy and resiliency remain key to ensuring the stable operation of the global internet. At the same time, the international community needs to strengthen cooperation to jointly address cybersecurity challenges and develop relevant international rules and standards to ensure the security and stability of global digital infrastructure.

The Red Sea submarine cable break incident serves as a global wake-up call, reminding us that while enjoying the convenience brought by digitalization, we must not ignore the vulnerabilities and potential risks of network infrastructure. Only through continuous technological innovation, improved management mechanisms, and strengthened international cooperation can we build a more secure, reliable, and stable global digital network.

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