Staff Report
Moore County law enforcement officials are facing yet another investigation into an attack on critical infrastructure, this time a suspended fiber optic cable that had been cut early Sunday morning in two places and dropped to the ground.
The attack comes as the county nears the third anniversary of an attack on two Duke Energy electric transmission centers, which left southern Moore County without power for up to four days in December 2022. Those incidents, which involved a gunfire attack on substations in Carthage and West End, remain unsolved.
The attack occurred on Old Morganton Road in Southern Pines, where a cable suspended about 30 feet above ground was cut in two places. That location is near the Pine Lawn Cemetery and the bustling commercial corridor off Brucewood Road.
“Our fiber optic lines were intentionally cut in another felony attack on our critical infrastructure, resulting in an outage for residents and businesses in the Southern Pines area,” said a representative from Spectrum in a statement. “Our technical teams are on the scene working to restore services as quickly as possible. The Moore County Sheriff’s Department has dispatched a forensic investigator and those found responsible will be charged.”
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said that initial reports from the scene point to “an attempted larceny of wire, as opposed to a targeted attack on network infrastructure for the sole purpose of disruption.”
But it added that “the Moore County Sheriff’s will pursue all potential motives as information becomes available.”
Spectrum reported an alarm indicating a loss of service at 3:53 a.m. on Sunday and dispatched repair crews to the location, the Sheriff’s Office said. Being that the property is surrounded by the Southern Pines town limits, the Southern Pines Police Department was notified at 10:40 a.m. But after confirming the site is within Moore County jurisdiction, the Sheriff’s Office was contacted at 12:48 p.m. The delayed response has caused a hiccup in the investigation process.
“Upon notification, multiple detectives were immediately deployed to begin the investigation,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “The delay in reporting, along with several hours of repair work, has presented challenges for preserving the scene and collecting potential evidence.”
Spectrum began notifying customers via text and email notifications around 4 a.m. Sunday of outages. But reports began as early as Saturday of Spectrum Internet outages rolling across Moore County. It was not known if those outages were connected to any attack. The Sunday outage affected television, internet and phone service for Spectrum customers.
Large parts of western and southern Moore County, including Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Foxfire and Seven Lakes, were without service for much of the day Sunday. Most customers were reconnected by 7 p.m. Sunday evening. There were no immediate estimates of the number of customers who were affected, but at least a few in Pinehurst reported late Sunday evening they still did not have service.
Work crews continued repairing the lines Monday, especially along the back side of the cemetery. When asked Sunday the cause of the outage, one Spectrum crew member working on the repair said, “We don’t know, we just got here, and it was on the ground, destroyed.”
Repairing a cut cable is an intricate process. A cable can contain hundreds of glass filaments that have to be spliced back together. It has been compared to reconnecting cut hair.
Once the Sheriff’s Office became aware of the outage and its impact on communications, it posted a message that said, “Moore County Public Safety is aware of a Charter Spectrum service outage that may affect your ability to call or text 911.” The statement advised residents who couldn’t reach 911 to go to the nearest fire department for assistance.
Spectrum officials had no immediate comment Sunday but by mid-morning had attributed the damage to “malicious vandalism.”
“Criminal attacks on communications infrastructure is a growing issue affecting the entire telecommunications industry, not just Spectrum,” said Spectrum in its statement. “These acts are not only a crime but threaten public safety.
“We are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information on this criminal attack can contact Spectrum at 833-404-TIPS(8477) or reach out to local law enforcement.”
Attacks on fiber optic cable infrastructure are increasingly common. There were 417 instances of critical infrastructure attacks from June 2024 to June 2025 in North Carolina across the industry. Similar attacks have been reported in recent months in other parts of the country. Spectrum officials in San Antonio reported several attacks on their system between March and May and also offered a $25,000 reward for information on the incidents.
And Charter Communications in Van Nuys, California reported a major attack on its infrastructure in June, calling the incident “domestic terrorism.” In that attack, 13 cables were cut, affecting more than 50,000 customers. The FBI is involved in that case.
In a report issued this past August, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association reported that more than 5,700 attacks were recorded in 2024 on cable infrastructure across the United States, affecting more than 1.5 million people.
Following the Duke Energy substation attacks in 2022, North Carolina’s General Assembly in 2023 passed new legislation that increases the penalties for damage to key infrastructure.
The measure makes it a high-grade felony to purposefully damage or attempt to damage an energy facility, including those that transmit or distribute electricity or fuel, and any associated hardware, software or digital infrastructure.
The new legislation partially replaced an existing state law that made utility damage a misdemeanor without jail time on a first offense. Now, someone with no criminal history could serve just over six years in prison and face up to $250,000 in fines. The punishments apply to damaged power lines, wires, pipes or other operating equipment used by the facility.
In a Monday statement, State Sen. Tom McInnis, whose district includes Moore County and who sponsored the beefed up legislation, said he was disturbed by the latest incident.
“I remain steadfast in my commitment to safeguarding North Carolina’s essential infrastructure. This legislation strengthens penalties for individuals who damage, destroy, or disrupt our state’s power and telecommunications systems,” McInnis said in the statement.
“Our communities depend on reliable infrastructure, and any deliberate act to disrupt it threatens not only our daily lives but also public safety,” he said. “I will continue to work closely with law enforcement and state agencies to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and that our systems remain secure.”
