Microsoft has confirmed that its Azure cloud services have been disrupted following damage to undersea cables in the Red Sea.
The tech giant warned that customers using Azure – one of the world’s largest cloud computing platforms – could face delays due to issues with internet traffic transiting through the Middle East. Reports Technology News
While Microsoft did not specify what caused the cable damage, it said engineers had successfully rerouted traffic via alternative paths to minimise disruption.
Reports over the weekend suggested that the incident had affected internet services in the United Arab Emirates and several Asian nations.
Often described as the backbone of the internet, subsea cables carry vast amounts of data between continents.
In a service update posted on Saturday, Microsoft said Azure traffic moving through the Middle East “may experience increased latency due to undersea fibre cuts in the Red Sea,” but stressed that services not routed through the region remain unaffected.
Independent internet watchdog NetBlocks also reported multiple cable cuts in the Red Sea, saying the outages had disrupted connectivity in countries including India and Pakistan.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company confirmed the damage occurred in waters near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, warning that users could face slower speeds during peak times.
Subsea cables are vulnerable to damage from ship anchors, though they have also been deliberately sabotaged in the past.
In February 2024, cuts to several communication cables in the Red Sea disrupted internet traffic between Asia and Europe, coming just weeks after Yemen’s internationally recognised government cautioned that the Iran-backed Houthi movement could target cables and shipping in the region – claims the Houthis denied.
Beyond the Red Sea, undersea infrastructure has been hit elsewhere. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a series of cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in suspected attacks. Earlier this year, Swedish authorities seized a vessel thought to have severed a cable to Latvia, with prosecutors saying initial findings pointed to sabotage.
