Sharks Are Attacking Our Internet

Experts warned this week that the internet could be running out of space, but a far more real threat is something a little different. Sharks, yes you read right. It almost sounds like something out of a James Bond or Austin Powers movie (except for the missing head-mounted laser).

Google protects its underwater data cables from shark bites with a hi-tech material, according to one of its employees. The fibre optic cables are responsible for carrying the world’s internet traffic, and they are protected from knocks that could break the glass tubes, as well as from shark bites that could break the backbone of the internet.

One of the search giant’s product managers told Network World that the firm uses a Kevlar-like material to provide extra cushioning for cables in the Pacific in order to protect them from shark bites. Kevlar is a high-strength armoured synthetic fibre designed by DuPont, and it seems that Google uses its own equivalent.

It is thought that the creatures are attracted to the electric magnetic fields the cables generate, which are similar to those emitted by fish in distress. So the not so techsavvy shark will take a bite at the unsuspecting cable expecting an easy meal.

Thank you DailyMail for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of DailyMail.