Internet access was disrupted in parts of Asia and the Middle East on Sunday due to cuts to underwater cables in the Red Sea.
The incident’s cause is still unknown.
Read on to find out all the details!
Internet Disrupted in Asia and the Middle East: Here’s Why
According to NetBlocks, a global connectivity monitoring company, the disruptions affected major subsea systems, particularly the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) lines near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SMW4).
According to NetBlocks, the outages caused internet services in a number of nations, including India, to lag.
Users in the Middle East “may experience increased latency due to undersea fibre cuts,” according to Microsoft’s service status page.
Microsoft clarified that there was no impact on internet traffic that was routed outside the region.
Most international data is carried by subsea cables, which are essential to global internet traffic.
Although providers can reroute traffic in the event of a link failure, such occurrences typically result in observable slowdowns.
Because it takes specialised ships to find and repair cables located deep on the seabed, subsea cable repairs can take weeks.
Since late 2023, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked shipping in the Red Sea, raising ongoing security concerns.
According to the Houthis, they are exerting pressure on Israel to halt its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Houthis have denied targeting subsea cables, despite concerns that they may be sabotaged.
Microsoft Imposes Strict Work From Office Rule After Firing 15000 Employees
People familiar with the matter have confirmed that Microsoft is weighing a mandate requiring employees to work from the office at least three days a week. While the policy is not yet finalized, Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters is expected to be among the first locations impacted. A formal announcement had reportedly been considered for September, but no final timeline has been confirmed.
A Microsoft spokesperson acknowledged the review of flexible work guidelines but clarified that no decisions have been made. The potential change would significantly alter the company’s current hybrid model, introduced in late 2020, which permits up to 50% remote work without managerial approval — a policy that in practice has been even more relaxed.
