#FactCheck: Old clip of Greenland tsunami depicts as tsunami in Japan

Introduction

The most recent cable outages in the Red Sea, which caused traffic to slow down throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and even India, Pakistan and several parts of the UAE, like Etilasat and Du networks, also experienced comparable internet outages, serve as a reminder that the physical backbone of the internet is both routine and extremely important. Cloud platforms reroute traffic, e-commerce stalls, financial transactions stutter, and governments face the fragility of something they long believed to be seamless when systems like SMW4 and IMEWE malfunction close to Jeddah. Concerns over the susceptibility of undersea information highways have been raised by the incident. Given the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea region, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been waging a campaign against commercial shipping in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.  The effects are seen immediately. The argument over whether global connection is genuinely robust or just operating on borrowed time was reignited by these recent failures, which compelled key providers to reroute flows. 

A geopolitical signal is what looks like a “technical glitch.” Accidents in contested waters are rarely simply accidents, and the inability to quickly assign blame highlights how brittle this ostensibly flawless digital world is. 

The Paradox of Essential yet Exposed Infrastructure

This is not an isolated accident. Undersea cables, which carry more than 97% of all internet traffic worldwide, connect continents at the speed of light, and support the cloud infrastructures that contemporary societies rely on, are the brains of the digital economy., as cautioned by NATO’s Cooperative  Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. In a sense, they are our unseen electrical grid; without them, connectivity breaks down. However, they continue to be incredibly fragile in spite of their significance. Anchors and fishing gear frequently damage cables, which are no thicker than a garden hose, and they break more than a hundred times annually on average. Most faults can be swiftly fixed or relocated, but when several cuts happen in strategic areas, like the 2022 Tonga eruption or the current Red Sea crisis, nations and economies are exposed to being isolated for days. 

The geopolitical risks are far more urgent. Subsea cables traverse disputed waters, land in hostile regimes, and cross oceans without regard for political boundaries. This makes them appealing for espionage, where state actors can tap or alter flows covertly, as well as sabotage, when service is interrupted to prevent access. Deliberate cable strikes have been likened by NATO specialists to the destruction of bridges or highways: if you choke the arteries, you choke the economy. Ironically, the most susceptible locations are not far below the surface but rather where cables emerge. These landing sites, which handle billions of dollars’ worth of trade, can have less security than a conventional bank office.

The New Theatre of Geopolitics 

Legal frameworks exist, but they are patchwork. Intentional damage is illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and previous agreements, but attribution is still infamously challenging. Covert sabotage and intelligence operations are examples of legal grey areas in hybrid warfare scenarios. Even during times of peace, national governments that rely on their continuous operation but find it difficult to extend sovereignty into international waters, private telecom consortia, and content giants like Google and Amazon that now finance their own cables share the burden of protection.

Cables convey influence in addition to data. Strategic leverage belongs to whoever can secure them, tap them or cut them during a fight. Even though landing stations are the entry points for billions of dollars’ worth of international trade, they frequently offer less security than a commercial bank branch. 

India at the Crossroads of Digital Geopolitics 

India’s reliance on underwater cables presents both advantages and disadvantages. India presents a classic single-point-of-failure danger, with more than 95% of its international data traffic being routed through a 6-km coastal stretch close to Versova, Mumbai. Red Sea disruptions have previously demonstrated how swiftly chokepoints located far from India’s coast may impede its digital arteries, placing a burden on government functions, defence communications, and financial flows. However, this same vulnerability also makes India a crucial player in the global discussion around digital sovereignty. It is not only an infrastructure exercise; it is also a strategic and constitutional necessity to be able to diversify landing places, expedite clearances, and develop indigenous repair capability.

India’s geographic location also presents opportunities. India’s location along East-West cable lines makes it an ideal location for robust connectivity as the Indo-Pacific region becomes the defining region of geopolitics in the twenty-first century. India may change from being a passive recipient of connectivity to a shaper of its governance by investing in distributed cable architecture and strengthening partnerships through initiatives like Quad and IPEF. Its aspirations for global influence must be balanced with its home regulatory lethargy. By doing this, India can secure not only bandwidth but also sovereignty itself by converting subsea cables from hidden liabilities into tools of economic might and geopolitical leverage. 

CyberPeace Insights 

If cables are considered essential infrastructure, then their safety demands the same level of attention that we give to ports, airports, and electrical grids. Stronger landing station defences, redundancy in route, and sincere public-private collaborations are now a necessity rather than an option.

The Red Sea incident is a call to action rather than a singular disruption. The robustness of underwater cables will determine whether the internet is a sustainable resource or a brittle luxury susceptible to the next outage as reliance on the cloud grows and 5G spreads. 

References

• https://forumias.com/blog/answered-assess-the-strategic-significance-of-undersea-cable-networks-for-indias-digital-economy-and-national-security-discuss-the-vulnerabilities-of-this-infrastructure-and-suggest-measures-to-e/ 
• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/red-sea-cable-cuts-disrupt-internet-across-asia-middle-east-2025-09-07/ 
• https://pulse.internetsociety.org/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-africas-multiple-submarine-cable-outages 

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Executive Summary:

A photo circulating on the web that claims to show the future design of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, BARC building, has been found to be fake after fact checking has been done. Nevertheless, there is no official notice or confirmation from BARC on its website or social media handles. Through the AI Content Detection tool, we have discovered that the image is a fake as it was generated by an AI. In short, the viral picture is not the authentic architectural plans drawn up for the BARC building.

Claims:

A photo allegedly representing the new outlook of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) building is reigning over social media platforms.

Fact Check:

To begin our investigation, we surfed the BARC's official website to check out their tender and NITs notifications to inquire for new constructions or renovations.

It was a pity that there was no corresponding information on what was being claimed.

Then, we hopped on their official social media pages and searched for any latest updates on an innovative building construction, if any. We looked on Facebook, Instagram and X . Again, there was no information about the supposed blueprint. To validate the fact that the viral image could be generated by AI, we gave a search on an AI Content Detection tool by Hive that is called ‘AI Classifier’. The tool's analysis was in congruence with the image being an AI-generated computer-made one with 100% accuracy.

To be sure, we also used another AI-image detection tool called, “isitai?” and it turned out to be 98.74% AI generated.

Conclusion:

To conclude, the statement about the image being the new BARC building is fake and misleading. A detailed investigation, examining BARC's authorities and utilizing AI detection tools, proved that the picture is more probable an AI-generated one than an original architectural design. BARC has not given any information nor announced anything for such a plan. This makes the statement untrustworthy since there is no credible source to support it.

Claim: Many social media users claim to show the new design of the BARC building.

Claimed on: X, Facebook

Fact Check: Misleading

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Executive Summary:

In the age of virtuality, misinformation and misleading techniques shape the macula of the internet, and these threaten human safety and well-being. Recently, an alarming fake information has surfaced, intended to provide a fake Government subsidy scheme with the name of Indian Post. This serves criminals, who attack people's weaknesses, laying them off with proposals of receiving help in exchange for info. In this informative blog, we take a deep dive into one of the common schemes of fraud during this time. We will go through the stages involved which illustrates how one is deceived and offer practical tips to avoid the fall.

Introduction:

Digital communication reaches individuals faster, and as a result, misinformation and mails have accelerated their spread globally. People, therefore, are susceptible to online scams as they add credibility to phenomena. In India, the recently increased fake news draws its target with the deceptive claims of being a subsidy from the Government mainly through the Indian post. These fraudulent schemes frequently are spread via social networks and messaging platforms, influence trust of the individual’s in respectable establishments to establish fraud and collect private data. 

Understanding the Claim:

There is a claim circulating on the behalf of the Government at the national level of a great subsidy of $1066 for deserving residents. The individual will be benefited with the subsidy when they complete the questionnaire they have received through social media. The questionnaire may have been designed to steal the individual’s confidential information by way of taking advantage of naivety and carelessness.

The Deceptive Journey Unveiled:

Bogus Offer Presentation: The scheme often appeals to people, by providing a misleading message or a commercial purposely targeted at convincing them to act immediately by instilling the sense of an urgent need. Such messages usually combine the mood of persuasion and highly evaluative material to create an illusion of being authentic.

Questionnaire Requirement: After the visitors land on attractive content material they are directed to fill in the questionnaire which is supposedly required for processing the economic assistance. This questionnaire requests for non private information in their nature.

False Sense of Urgency: Simultaneously, in addition to the stress-causing factor of it being a fake news, even the false deadline may be brought out to push in the technique of compliance. This data collection is intended to put people under pressure and influence them to make the information transfer that immediate without thorough examination.

Data Harvesting Tactics: Despite the financial help actually serving, you might be unaware but lies beneath it is a vile motive, data harvesting. The collection of facts through questionnaires may become something priceless for scammers that they can use for a good while to profit from identity theft, financial crimes and other malicious means.

Analysis Highlights:

• It is important to note that at this particular point, there has not been any official declaration or a proper confirmation of an offer made by the India Post or from the Government. So, people must be very careful when encountering such messages because they are often employed as lures in phishing attacks or misinformation campaigns. Before engaging or transmitting such claims, it is always advisable to authenticate the information from trustworthy sources in order to protect oneself online and prevent the spread of wrongful information
• The campaign is hosted on a third party domain instead of any official Government Website, this raised suspicion. Also the domain has been registered in very recent times.

• Domain Name: ccn-web[.]buzz
• Registry Domain ID: D6073D14AF8D9418BBB6ADE18009D6866-GDREG
• Registrar WHOIS Server: whois[.]namesilo[.]com
• Registrar URL: www[.]namesilo[.]com
• Updated Date: 2024-02-27T06:17:21Z
• Creation Date: 2024-02-11T03:23:08Z
• Registry Expiry Date: 2025-02-11T03:23:08Z
• Registrar: NameSilo, LLC
• Name Server: tegan[.]ns[.]cloudflare[.]com
• Name Server: nikon[.]ns[.]cloudflare[.]com

Note: Cybercriminal used Cloudflare technology to mask the actual IP address of the fraudulent website. 

CyberPeace Advisory:

Verification and Vigilance: It makes complete sense in this case that you should be cautious and skeptical. Do not fall prey to this criminal act. Examine the arguments made and the facts provided by either party and consult credible sources before disclosures are made.

Official Channels: Governments usually invoke the use of reliable channels which can as well be by disseminating subsidies and assistance programs through official websites and the legal channels. Take caution for schemes that are not following the protocols previously established.

Educational Awareness: Providing awareness through education and consciousness about on-line scams and the approaches which are fraudulent has to be considered a primary requirement. Through empowering individuals with capabilities and targets we, as a collective, can be armed with information that will prevent erroneous scheme spreading.

Reporting and Action: In a case of mission suspicious and fraudulent images, let them understand immediately by making the authorities and necessary organizations alert. Your swift actions do not only protect yourself but also help others avoid the costs of related security compromises.

Conclusion:

The rise of the ‘Indian Post Countrywide - government subsidy fake news’ poses a stern warning of the present time that the dangers within the virtual ecosystem are. The art of being wise and sharp in terms of scams always reminds us to show a quick reaction to the hacks and try to do the things that we should identify as per the CyberPeace advisories; thereby, we will contribute to a safer Cyberspace for everyone. Likewise, the ability to critically judge, and remain alert, is important to help defeat the variety of tricks offenders use to mislead you online.

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