Microsoft said its Azure cloud platform has returned to normal service after an incident of cut underwater cables that played out over Saturday. The tech giant reported “undersea fiber cuts” in the Red Sea on Saturday morning, which disrupted Azure service throughout the Middle East and led to potential “increased latency” for users. Microsoft said that the latency issue was resolved by Saturday evening and was able to reroute the Azure traffic through other paths.
Microsoft didn’t provide a reason for why the undersea cables were cut. These cables sit on the ocean floor and play the crucial role of delivering massive amounts of data across the world. While ships dropping anchors can sometimes damage undersea cables, there have been more intentional circumstances in the past. In 2024, the internationally recognized government of Yemen claimed that the country’s Houthi movement was responsible for cutting cables in the Red Sea. While Microsoft managed to restore service for its latest episode the same day, it also noted that undersea cable cuts “can take time to repair” and that it “will continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimize routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime.”
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