WIRED Staff
Science

Slideshow: The Backhoe: A Real Cyberthreat

If a contractor planting a cable TV line can accidentally cut off millions of cell-phone customers for three hours, imagine what an organized attack might do. By Kevin Poulsen.
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Under the One Call system, utilities typically have two days to visit a proposed dig and mark off their pipes and cables. Nearly half of the accidental cuts in 2004 occurred when excavators neglected to phone in their plans.Photo: Chris Becker

See related story: The Backhoe: A Real Cyberthreat

Source American Public Works Association

Source: American Public Works Association

Photo illustration: Keith Axline
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Fiber-optic backbones tend to clump along the same routes as they cross the United States, says Sean Gorman, CTO of FortiusOne. This map shows a rough approximation of routing frequencies across America's fiber paths.

Image: Courtesy of FortiusOne