Two AT&T fiber-optic cables in Livermore, California, were severed Monday night. The incident is the latest in a string of attacks on the Internet’s privately run backbone, which the FBI is investigating.
AT&T is offering a $250,000 reward in connection with the latest attacks. It’s fiber-optic network is legally considered a critical piece of the nation’s Internet infrastructure and any attackers are subject to both state and federal prosecution.
It’s a serious matter and affects public safety at large,
AT&T spokesman Jim Greer said Tuesday, USA Today reported.
FBI officials said it’s possible the cable cutter is disguised as a utility employee. Whoever has been attacking the cables usually opens an underground vault, climbs inside and then cuts through the cables’ protective metal conduit before severing the lines themselves, USA Today reported.
