Multiple fibre optic cables belonging to internet service providers in France were deliberately cut in an act of sabotage. The vandalism occurred overnight at several different locations, disrupting fixed and mobile internet services for some users. While authorities have not identified those responsible, this is the second targeted attack on French infrastructure during the Paris Olympic Games. Last week, train lines were also sabotaged in what officials believe was a politically motivated attack by extremists. Although internet connectivity has largely been restored, questions remain about how such vulnerabilities can be better safeguarded in the future.

Cybersplice’s Industrial Connectivity Cloud, Splice-net, could have potentially mitigated the impact of this attack or prevented it entirely using several of its security features.  Splice-net creates a dedicated encrypted overlay network on top of existing carrier infrastructure, enabling  OT traffic to traverse hostile carriers and corporate IT networks.  With underlay redundancy (such as backup mobile links), Splice-net would fail over seamlessly to an alternate path.  Even if the physical cables are compromised, the data transmitted within the Splice network would remain secure and inaccessible to the attackers. 

Additionally, Splice’s behavioural monitoring, using AI, could have detected the unusual activity of cable cuts impacting data flow and alerted relevant authorities, potentially preventing wider outages. Splice’s ability to provide secure remote access could have also enabled engineers to rapidly diagnose the issue and implement recovery protocols without needing to physically access the compromised locations.