Spectrum fiber network vandalism earlier this month is domestic terrorism, company says

CBS News

a day ago

Charter Communications is calling a June 15 attack on its communications network in Van Nuys an act of domestic terrorism, the company announced on Tuesday.
The company said the determination was made based on the nature of the fiber cuts, the extent of damage, and the makeup of impacted customers. In all, more than 50,000 residential customers and more than 500 business customers were affected for up to 30 hours.
"This is a pervasive and persistent threat to American families and businesses across the country that cannot be tolerated, and such life-threatening events should be declared acts of domestic terrorism and prosecuted accordingly," Chris Winfrey, President and CEO, of Charter Communications, said in a news release.
Spectrum customers in Los Angeles and Ventura were affected on June 15 after the lines were cut early that morning in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles.
In all, 13 cables were severed, including more than 2,600 individual fibers. The communication company said the damage affected emergency services, including a military base, emergency dispatch, and 911 communication services for local fire and police departments, financial institutions, court buildings, healthcare facilities and hospitals, educational institutions, as well as cell towers providing mobile services.
At the time of the June 15 incident, Spectrum said telecommunications lines have been a target for vandalism because of the precious metals some companies use. Spectrum fiber optic lines do not contain any copper, according to the company.
"This requires immediate attention from federal and state legislation classifying these attacks as a felony, dedicated engagement from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and swift, aggressive prosecution of those criminals causing the perilous situation that results from these outages," Charter Communications wrote in a news release.
As part of a more widespread problem across the nation, Charter said that between June through December 2024, the industry suffered nearly 6,000 intentional critical communications infrastructure attacks.
Spectrum is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information related to these criminal infrastructure attacks that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information can call Spectrum at [phone] or reach out to local law enforcement.