Google has been forced to reinforce its new network of undersea internet cables due to shark attacks.
According to the search giant, 100km of its fragile cables have been redesigned with a material close to that used in bulletproof vests.
Google said at its Cloud Roadshow event that its fibre optic cable network was subject to frequent but inexplicable attacks by sharks.
Product Manager Dan Belcher said it was now forced to use a "Kevlar-like material" to protect the cables, which at their best can send data 100 times faster than copper cables.
Sharks are apparently drawn to the cables, but no one is currently able to explain why. Attacks have been reported since 1987 and no tactics other than reinforcing the cables has managed to stop the sharks in their toothy tracks.
Still, Google seems undeterred. It says that its now reinforced cables appear to be staving off the shark menace for now, and has recently announced plans to build a new trans-Pacific cable to connect the US to Japan and the rest of Asia. The new cable will have a capacity close to 60 terabits a second, which is -- needless to say -- very fast indeed.