Vocus hit by Australia Singapore Cable break

Vocus is dealing with a break on its Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) system that runs between Perth and Singapore, weeks after the second major cable on the route experienced a shunt fault.

The problems with ASC began Friday night and were traced to a cable break between Anyer, which sits about 80km west of Jakarta, and Singapore, in Indonesian waters.

Vocus said in status updates that coherent optical time domain reflectometry (COTDR) testing from its Perth cable landing station had provided a more “accurate measurement of the cable break location.”

”[We are] working closely with its marine repair partner to progress repair readiness, including reviewing the latest diagnostic results, confirming the required spare materials, and coordinating the necessary permits and regulatory approvals,” it said in its most recent status update.

The transmission operator said that internet traffic had been “rerouted via alternate paths”.

What this means will vary by internet service provider or other organisations that rely on west coast subsea paths to route traffic to Singapore and beyond.

But network engineers posting to Reddit indicated that traffic was rerouting to cables on Australian east coast, and then via countries such as Japan or the United States.

The last published status updates for Indigo West indicated a repair timeframe in the first part of September.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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