Internet outage

Common card · No. 450640

An Internet outage, Internet blackout, Internet shutdown or Internet drought is the complete or partial failure of the internet services. It can occur due to censorship, cyberattacks, disasters, police or security services actions, or errors. Disruptions of submarine communications cables may cause blackouts or slowdowns to large areas. Countries with a less developed Internet infrastructure are more vulnerable due to small numbers of high-capacity links. A line of research finds that the Internet with it having a "hub-like" core structure that makes it robust to random losses of nodes but also fragile to targeted attacks on key components − the highly connected nodes or "hubs". As of 2026 the longest nationwide internet shutdown in history has been the 2026 Internet blackout in Iran.

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