Tag Archives: Internet

Several French cities suffered internet outages, a government minister said on Wednesday, confirming media reports of coordinated attacks on the country’s communication infrastructure. “Internet cables have been cut in the Ile-de-France region, which is affecting the landline and mobile network,” Minister for Digital Affairs Cedric O said on Twitter. “We …

The phenomena named by the scientists “space weather” can affect Earth in a variety of ways: from creating fascinating light shows like auroral displays, to actually causing damage to satellite infrastructure. Earth can brace itself for solar storms “cannibalising” one another to hit the planet in the upcoming four years, …

A US federal jury convicted an Illinois man on Monday for creating a computer script intending to help ISIS spread propaganda online, according to a Department of Justice statement. Chicago man Thomas Osadzinski, 22, designed a computer script that he believed would make it easier for ISIS to reproduce its …

Egypt has announced plans to provide more than 60 million people in rural areas with high-speed internet as part of a nationwide effort to develop the digital economy and drive job creation. “We want to improve internet connectivity for 60 million Egyptians living in around 4,500 villages by upgrading broadband …

While humans are protected from solar storms by the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, they still have the potential to cause immense damage to infrastructure which could induce an “internet apocalypse,” new research finds. The report, entitled ‘Solar Superstorms: Planning for an Internet Apocalypse’, states that “one of the greatest …

Wikipedia can serve as a model to combat disinformation and distrust online.

India on Sunday restored high-speed 4G internet services in two districts of Kashmir after the Supreme Court last month said an indefinite shutdown of the internet there was illegal. The communications lockdown had been imposed after partial autonomy of the Muslim majority region was scrapped by the Prime Minister Narendra …

Joyce Greenberg Brown first learned about political organizing from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957, when he visited her youth group at a Philadelphia YWCA. She worked for George McGovern in Pennsylvania in 1972 and managed field offices in Florida for Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. She was so …

Alphabet Inc began offering the world’s first commercial high-speed internet using balloons to villagers in remote regions of Kenya’s Rift Valley on Wednesday. The service is run by Loon, a unit of Google’s parent Alphabet, and Telkom Kenya, the East African nation’s third-largest telecoms operator. “Kenya is the first country… …

Google has been sued in the US over claims it illegally invades the privacy of users by tracking people even when they are browsing in “private mode”. The class action wants at least $5bn (£4bn) from Google and the owner Alphabet. Many internet users assume their search history isn’t being …

Australia is a wealthy, advanced country, yet its broadband internet is curiously slow. After previously being ranked below Kenya, a new global internet index by Speedtest has Australia ranked 68th in the world. According to the index, Australia’s internet is more sluggish than Kazakhstan’s (64th), Kosovo’s (61st) and Montenegro’s (60th). …

Deliberate internet shutdowns by governments across the world in 2019 have cost economies over $8 billion, according to a new report by Top10VPN. Shutting down the internet as a tactic to stifle dissent came to prominence during the 2011 Egyptian uprising when the government cut off access for several days …

Russia has successfully tested Runet, a country-wide alternative to the global internet, its government has announced. Details of what the test involved were vague but, according to the Ministry of Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes. The results will now be presented to President Putin. Experts remain concerned …

Iran on Thursday began restoring internet access in the capital Tehran and a number of provinces, local news agencies and residents said, after a days-long nationwide shutdown meant to help stifle unrest over fuel price hikes. The Revolutionary Guards said calm had returned across Iran, state TV reported, after protests …

The Internet service returned on Saturday, to Iraq after a shut down due to a wave of bloody protests. The Iraqi authorities have previously shut down Internet services to counter the wave of mass protests. Prime Minister ,Adel Abdul-Mahdi said in a statement on Saturday that “the authorities in defense …

Internet service was cut again this afternoon in Baghdad and several Iraqi cities. This comes within a few hours after the service returned on Tuesday morning following a cut at midnight, at a time the country is witnessing a wave of bloody protests. The Iraqi authorities did not give an …

Authorities in Iran have seized roughly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, according to state TV reports. The action was taken following a spike in electricity consumption. Demand for power rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main cause, an energy ministry …

Tim Berners-Lee helped invent the world wide web 30 years ago. And he has consistently pointed out that the original dream that gave rise to it is under threat. It is exactly 30 years since Sir Tim submitted a paper to his colleagues at CERN, suggesting a way of sharing …

Thailand’s military-appointed parliament on Thursday passed a controversial cybersecurity law that gives sweeping powers to state cyber agencies. The Cybersecurity Act voted unanimously, is the latest in a wave of new laws in Asian countries that assert government control over the internet. Civil liberties advocates, internet companies and business groups …