>how is the spliced data actually exfiltrated back to land? During the Cold War, they periodically returned to the site of the tap and changed the tapes and ba

>how is the spliced data actually exfiltrated back to land? During the Cold War, they periodically returned to the site of the tap and changed the tapes and batteries. One of the taps was installed on a Soviet telephone cable across the Sea of Okhotsk in several hundred feet of water. It was a 20-foot long contraption able to eavesdrop without penetrating the cable. It was designed to fall off the cable if the Soviets raised it for repairs. It survived nearly a decade, until 1981, when Ronald Pelton sold its location (among other secrets) to the KGB for $35k. http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=cw_f_ivybells http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=cw_f_ivyb... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy_Bells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy_Bells