Microsoft Cloud Services Face Disruption Due to Red Sea Cable Damage

Sat Sep 13 2025 09:23:51 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea have led to delays in Microsoft Azure cloud services, affecting internet traffic across the Middle East and beyond.

Microsoft's Azure cloud services experienced disruptions following undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea. Users reported increased latency, especially in regions reliant on internet traffic traversing the Middle East. The exact cause of the cable damage remains unclear, although similar incidents have been noted in the past, raising concerns about the security of underwater internet infrastructure.

Microsoft's Azure cloud services have been disrupted by undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, the US tech giant says.

The company stated that Azure users will experience delays due to issues with internet traffic moving through the Middle East, where Azure is among the leading cloud computing platforms.

Although Microsoft did not specify what caused the cable cuts, it mentioned that it has rerouted traffic through alternative pathways.

Reports emerged over the weekend indicating that the undersea cable cuts also affected internet services in the United Arab Emirates and countries across Asia.

An update posted on the Microsoft website on Saturday noted that Azure traffic through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to the fibre optic cable cuts.

Microsoft emphasized that traffic not passing through the Middle East remains unaffected.

Undersea cables, which run along the ocean floor, are essential for transmitting data between continents and are often described as the backbone of the internet.

NetBlocks, an organization monitoring internet access, reported on Saturday that a series of subsea cable disruptions in the Red Sea impacted services in several countries, including India and Pakistan.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company reported that the cuts occurred near the Saudi city of Jeddah and cautioned that internet services could be disrupted during peak hours.

On Sunday, NetBlocks confirmed that UAE services were also compromised.

Generally, undersea cables can be damaged by ships' anchors but may also be targeted in attacks.

Earlier in February 2024, multiple communications cables in the Red Sea were cut, impacting data traffic between Asia and Europe. This incident followed warnings from Yemen's internationally recognized government that the Iran-backed Houthi movement might sabotage undersea cables, amidst denial from the Houthis.

In the Baltic Sea, a pattern of undersea cables and gas pipeline damage has arisen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, raising further concerns about the vulnerabilities of critical internet infrastructure.