India, May 15 -- Iran's hints at charging for undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz spotlight how vital and exposed these "digital chokepoints" are.

More than 500 submarine cables carry most global data, many funneled through narrow Middle Eastern sealanes.

Any damage, accidental or deliberate, could disrupt economies, financial markets, and military communications worldwide, turning the seabed into a new arena of geopolitical risk.

Early this week, Iranian state-linked media floated a plan to charge the operators of undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz for access to what they say is Iran's offshore territory.

The suggestion comes after Iranian warnings that several important cables in the strait were a vulnerab...