Google is strengthening its underwater cables in the Pacific Ocean to fend off damage by shark bites, according to
Network World.
The Internet giant will be coating its fiber optic cables with Kevlar-like material, Dan Belcher, a product manager on the Google cloud team, told the magazine.
Sharks have a "unique ability" to detect electromagnetic fields, and they may be "confused" that the cable is an animal, George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, told
USA Today.
"No doubt the electromagnetic fields associated with these wires are highly attractive to these sharks," he added.
The underwater cables are part of $300 million cable network Google is building that will go across the Pacific Ocean, connecting Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle to cities in Japan, USA Today reported.