Microsoft Azure Services disrupted by the Red Sea Cable Cups

Microsoft’s Cloud Azure services have been disturbed by submarine cables in the Red Sea, said the American technology giant.

The company said that Azure users would undergo delays due to problems with Internet traffic in the Middle East. Azure is one of the main cloud computing platforms in the world.

Microsoft did not explain which could have caused the cuts to the underwater cables. He added that he had reacted traffic through other paths.

During the weekend, other reports suggest that the submarine cable cuts had affected the Arab Emirates and the United States in Asia.

An update published on the Microsoft website said on Saturday that the Azure traffic passing through the Middle East “may experience increased latency due to sections of submarine fibers in the Red Sea”.

He stressed that traffic “which does not cross through the Middle East is not affected”.

The cables placed on the ocean floor transmit data between continents and are often described as the backbone of the Internet.

On Saturday, Netblocks, an organization that monitors internet access, said that a series of submarine cables in the Red Sea had affected Internet services in several countries, including India and Pakistan.

The Pakistani company of telecommunications said in an article on X that cable cuts occurred in the waters near the Saudi city of Djeddah and warned that Internet services could be affected during rush hours.

Netblocks said on Sunday that the services had also been disrupted in the United Arab Emirates.

Submarine cables can be damaged by anchors abandoned by ships, but can also be targeted in attacks.

In February 2024, several communication cables of the Red Sea were cut, affecting data traffic between Asia and Europe.

The incident occurred about a month after the internationally recognized government of Yemen warned that the Houthi movement supported by Iran could sabotage underwater cables in addition to attacking ships. The Houthis denied having targeted cables.

In the Baltic Sea, a series of underwater cables and gas pipelines have been damaged in suspected attacks since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022.

Earlier this year, Swedish authorities seized a ship suspected of having damaged a cable going under the Baltic Sea to Latvia. Prosecutors said that an initial investigation underlined the sabotage.