Latter day Luddites?

A disturbing story from Egypt this week saw three men caught and detained while trying to destroy an

Enemy of technology, William Ludd

undersea internet cable.

Are these men driven by political or anarchistic conviction or are they simply modern day Luddites, afraid of technological advance?  Probably a mix of both.  The ability to prevent the dissemination of information by controlling or shutting down a country's connection to the internet has been a political weapon in many recent conflicts and is a standard tool of state control by non-democratic regimes.

I'm sure that we will hear soon enough what they hoped to achieve through their act of sabotage but consider how poorly protected these vital data transport lines may be.

A startling statistic provided in the Guardian article - undersea cables carry 99% of all intercontinental traffic.

Vulnerability of underwater cables (Wired)