Finland has a resilient telecommunications system – preparedness is based on close cooperation

The cable damages may have disrupted services but they did not cause significant disturbances in overall telecommunications. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom guides and oversees operators to ensure that communications networks and services are reliable and free from disruptions.

The National Cyber Security Centre Finland (NCSC-FI) at Traficom has investigated the scope and impact of the incident. The disruption affected approximately 100 corporate customers and also had an impact on consumer connections. Both cables appear to have been cut in connection with construction work, meaning that the incidents were accidental. The cables have now been repaired. The police have not opened an investigation into the matter.

Hundreds of cable breakages occur in Finland each year. The majority are caused by excavation work. Operators prepare for disruptions, and all connections are backed up.

Telecommunications within Finland and between Finland and other countries never rely on a single connection. "The use of the internet is not dependent on just one cable or even its backup connection. The system withstands multiple simultaneous disruptions," says Samuli Bergström, director of the CSIRT department at the NCSC-FI.

As a security authority, Traficom is tasked with, for example, guiding and overseeing operators to ensure that communications networks and services are reliable and work undisrupted. Traficom works daily in close cooperation with various sectors, including close international collaboration.

"Cables are maintained and repaired regularly, which means that we are prepared for these events. All these preparations are carried out in routine cooperation among telecommunications operators. Preparedness also involves regular disruption response exercises. Cooperation between the various sectors of society is extremely close. We also maintain nationwide situational awareness of cyber security in Finland, including the status of telecommunications performance," says Bergström.