On 7 January 2022, a fiberoptic cable connecting the Svalbard archipelago and the Norwegian mainland was found damaged. Preliminary police investigations concluded no natural phenomena caused the break. Norwegian police suspect human activity behind the disruption, potentially involving a vessel affecting the cable's position by up to 11 kilometers. The cable disruption cut power to some signal repeaters, causing a temporary communication failure for Svalbard. The cable is critical infrastructure supporting the world's largest commercial ground station operated by Space Norway. The cable was first found damaged in November 2021 by the Norwegian Marine Research Institute, which also reported collecting intelligence for the Norwegian Armed Forces. Recovery operations began in January 2022, with the cable expected to be fully repaired soon. No suspects have been charged or publicly named as of February 2022.

On 7 January 2022, a fiberoptic cable connecting the Svalbard archipelago and the Norwegian mainland was found damaged. Preliminary police investigations concluded no natural phenomena caused the break. Norwegian police suspect human activity behind the disruption, potentially involving a vessel affecting the cable's position by up to 11 kilometers. The cable disruption cut power to some signal repeaters, causing a temporary communication failure for Svalbard. The cable is critical infrastructure supporting the world's largest commercial ground station operated by Space Norway. The cable was first found damaged in November 2021 by the Norwegian Marine Research Institute, which also reported collecting intelligence for the Norwegian Armed Forces. Recovery operations began in January 2022, with the cable expected to be fully repaired soon. No suspects have been charged or publicly named as of February 2022.