Wire cutters: how the world’s vital undersea data cables are being targeted

Carrying 99% of the world's international telecommunications, the vulnerable lines are drawing nefarious interest

The lead-clad telegraphic cable seemed to weigh tons, according to Lt Cameron Winslow of the US navy, and the weather wasn't helping their attempts to lift it up from the seabed and sever it. The rough water knocked the heavy boats together, breaking and almost crushing in their planking," he wrote.

Eventually, Winslow's men managed to cut the cable with hacksaws and disrupt the enemy's communications by slicing off a 46-metre (150ft) section.