For decades, maritime security in Africa focused on visible threats. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, illegal fishing, arms trafficking, and attacks on commercial shipping dominated regional security agendas. Today, however, some of the continent's most vulnerable strategic assets lie far below the surface of the ocean.
Thousands of kilometers of submarine fiber-optic cables now carry almost all of Africa's international internet traffic, financial transactions, government communications, and cloud services. Unlike ports, pipelines, or power stations, these cables remain largely invisible to the public. Yet a single break can disrupt digital services across multiple countries within hours.
The growing importance of this infrastructure is changing how governments think about national security.
According to international telecommunications organizations, more than 95 percent of intercontinental digital traffic travels through submarine cables rather than satellites. Every mobile payment, banking transaction, government database query, video conference, or container shipment tracked through digital logistics ultimately depends on these underwater connections. Africa's dependence has increased rapidly over the past decade. New systems—including 2Africa, Equiano, PEACE, and several regional cable projects—have dramatically expanded bandwidth and reduced internet costs across much of the continent. They have also created a new category of strategic infrastructure whose disruption carries consequences extending far beyond telecommunications.
Recent incidents have demonstrated how vulnerable that infrastructure remains.
In early 2024, multiple submarine cable failures in the Red Sea disrupted internet connectivity across large parts of East Africa after commercial shipping was forced away from traditional routes by attacks on vessels in the region. Several countries experienced slower internet speeds, interruptions to banking services, and degraded cloud connectivity as traffic was rerouted through alternative networks. Only weeks later, additional cable failures off the coast of West Africa affected several countries simultaneously, illustrating how localized damage can produce regional consequences when multiple states depend on the same international connections. Most cable failures are still caused by accidental events rather than deliberate attacks. Fishing activities, ship anchors, underwater landslides, and geological events remain the leading causes of damage worldwide. Nevertheless, security analysts increasingly warn that submarine cables represent attractive targets during periods of geopolitical tension because they combine high strategic value with relatively limited physical protection. Unlike pipelines or ports, cables cannot easily be guarded along their entire route. Once they leave coastal waters, they stretch across thousands of kilometers of seabed, making continuous surveillance virtually impossible.
For Africa, the risks extend beyond internet access itself.
Digital banking systems increasingly rely on real-time international connectivity. Stock exchanges, customs authorities, port operators, energy companies, and payment platforms all depend on uninterrupted data transmission. Temporary outages can delay cargo movements, interrupt financial settlements, reduce investor confidence, and complicate emergency response operations.
The implications are particularly significant for countries positioning themselves as regional logistics and digital hubs. Ports such as Pointe-Noire, Douala, Lagos, Mombasa, and Durban increasingly integrate digital cargo management, customs processing, and supply-chain monitoring into daily operations. Their physical infrastructure may remain fully operational, yet without reliable international connectivity, much of that efficiency quickly disappears. The expansion of cloud computing creates another layer of dependency. Governments across Africa are digitizing public services while financial institutions migrate data to cloud platforms hosted both within and outside the continent. As digital transformation accelerates, submarine cables become as essential to national resilience as electricity grids or transport corridors. Recognizing these risks, governments have begun expanding cooperation with telecommunications operators, international organizations, and naval authorities. Discussions increasingly focus on mapping critical infrastructure, improving redundancy through additional cable routes, accelerating repair capabilities, and strengthening coordination between civilian and maritime security agencies. Private investment has also shifted. Rather than relying on a small number of major connections, newer projects increasingly emphasize network diversity. Additional landing stations, alternative routing, and greater interconnection between cable systems reduce the likelihood that a single failure will isolate entire regions. Even so, redundancy remains uneven across the continent. While some coastal states now benefit from multiple international connections, others continue depending on only one or two major cable systems, leaving them considerably more exposed to accidental disruption or malicious interference.
The nature of security itself is changing.
For much of the twentieth century, governments protected borders, ports, pipelines, and power stations because they represented the backbone of national economies. In the twenty-first century, digital infrastructure has joined that list. The cables resting quietly on the seabed now carry not only internet traffic but also the financial, commercial, and governmental systems upon which modern economies depend.
Africa's submarine cables may never become as visible as its ports or energy infrastructure. Increasingly, however, they are proving to be just as strategically important.
