The Countries Most Vulnerable To an Internet Shutdown 94
Sparrowvsrevolution writes "In the wake of Syria's 52-hour digital blackout last week, the networking firm Renesys performed an analysis of which countries are most susceptible to an Internet shutdown, based simply on how many distinct entities control the connections between the country's networks and those of the outside world. It found that for 61 countries and territories, just one or two Internet service providers maintain all external connections–a situation that could make possible a quick cutoff from the world with a well-placed government order or physical attack."
Cute cats across the country tremble (Score:1, Offtopic)
I think Azeroth would be hit hardest... (Score:5, Funny)
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What, there are still people "in" Second Life? I thought I was bad with my original, un-expanded boxed copy of Guild Wars...
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Re:U.S.A. (Score:4, Interesting)
Most people in the US probably wouldn't notice if we were cut off from the outside world for quite a while. Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, etc is all hosted within the US I believe. I can't think of any sites that are primarily hosted outside of the US that a *majority* of US citizens use on a daily basis.
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*cough* ... pirate bay ... *cough*
mmmh, I'm thinking maybe it doesn't pass the *majority* test.
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And I'm thinking it maybe would pass the majority test.
However most people would assume it either was down or got raided again.
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This lol farken!
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Most people in the US would not notice if 90% of these countries simply disappeared either. Seriously, next Slashdot poll could be how many of these countries could you identify on a map that does not show the country names. My guess is that 10% would be about typical, maybe even optimistic.
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Does anyone have a link to a chart of average IQs in Western countries...? :).
I'm tippin not all of them are 100
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Does anyone have a link to a chart of average IQs in Western countries...? :).
I'm tippin not all of them are 100
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fA2RjSyq8L4/TMxnvR5JQLI/AAAAAAAAGyg/blddZkpRT-M/s1600/AverageIQ-Map-World.png [blogspot.com]
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We've had a large influx of Sudanese, Lebanese & several peasant Asian country migrants over the past 20 years or so...? I don't think they even know what maths or formal logic is, much less be able to take an impartial test for their education levels lol. Unless you just made that map/chart up yourself...? ;-p
Hey also, I'm from central Europe & took my IQ tests there :)
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We've had a large influx of Sudanese, Lebanese & several peasant Asian country...
Well, per the chart, the Asians should be driving up the curve...
...Unless you just made that map/chart up yourself...?
No, I didn't make it myself, but hey; it's on the interweb, so it must be true!! :)
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I find it amusing that we're holding up the ladder with Botswana, of all countries ffs!
As much as we may have as many dumb-as-dogshit 'bogans' & 'ockers' & AFL yobos & 'fully sick mate!' petrol heads & Apple users, I just can't accept that we're dumber as a nation than the US, sorry. Plus, all of north AND south America have exactly the same average IQs...? Please.
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I just can't accept that we're dumber as a nation than the US, sorry. Plus, all of north AND south America have exactly the same average IQs...? Please.
Averaged across they probably do. Remember, you're not talking about income or GDP, just IQ. And not the best and the brightest, everyone.
You've got to remember you've got all the scientists and doctors and mathematicians in South America, as well as all the carney folk and phone sterilizers in North America in the mix.
Per-capita averages are a funny thing.
If you stop and think about it, the continent with the highest per-capita IQ is Antarctica.
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And so with every iphoney sold we subtract just a little more from the sum total of human knowledge & wisdom, as well as rejig where an average IQ of 100 actually sits. Oh brave new world...
-- ;-p
Sent from my S2 muthafucka!
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Ask anyone outside of the US to identify 5 unlabeled states. You'll get California, Florida, Nevada and Texas - plus whatever states they've been to.
Ask a Chinese person to identify the eastern European countries - he won't do to well.
Ask the average Dutchman to identify countries in Africa - you won't have too much success.
You are arrogant.
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Last time some politic decided to cut off internet, masses went to streets and smashed authoritarian government to smithereens. We can only hope that it will happen to US too some day.
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really iran hasn't seen any rioting in after having done so? they were the last ones weren't they? or are they still in the process of building their firewall?
Reliability of the measure regarding China (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe I don't get the way this is measured well, but why isn't China one of the riskiest country ? Are we regularly overestimating the power of the Chinese government on its Internet or his the measure showing something else than "ability to control and shutdown Internet" ?
Re:Reliability of the measure regarding China (Score:5, Insightful)
Because they measured it the wrong way.
Their measure how many distinct entities control exit and entry nodes. This has no meaning in some cases, such as CHine, as you righteously pointed out. If there are 100 entities controlling such nodes and ALL are immediately listening to a government's order to shut down, then that's worse than a country with TWO distinctly controlled nodes, out of which ZERO listen to a government order.
Unrelated: My country, Romania, shows as "Resistant".
Re:Reliability of the measure regarding China (Score:5, Informative)
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Or if the ITU does.
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It is difficult to ignore an order that is delivered from the barrel of a gun.
Similarly, more independent points of entry are more potential points of failure in an attempt to capture and maintain control for the purposes of a lockdown.
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CHine?
China... really, how difficult is it?
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It was late in the evening when I wrote it, I was at work, I was multitasking at the time. It's a typo, believe it or not. My (very mild) dyslexia kicks in every now and then when I'm tired. Among my typical mistakes:
- typing "e" instead of "a";
- releasing the Shift key either too early or too late;
- typing "ruch" instead of "rush" and "Englich" instead of "English".
Now you know a little bit more about me.
Of course, I should have reviewed my text, sorry for not doing it.
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It's sad when China has more
Re:Reliability of the measure regarding China (Score:4, Informative)
It's not based on the ability of the government to order companies to shut down the internet. It's merely based on the number of ISPs with connections to foreign countries. Did you notice that Afghanistan and China were both in the 10 to 40 ISP range? Because Afghanistan has so many satellite ISPs in country, each independent company which has a dish there adds one more to that ISP list.
While the Chinese government has the ability to shut down the internet based on their laws, this was a technical examination of possible network routes in and out of countries. Not a study on the legal/political aspect of an internet kill switch.
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The score is partially based on who (and how many people) owns the physical switches. I would guess In China that would be the state.
Unlike Kenya or Aruba, who get low scores because they only have limited undersea cable fiber reaching them, and thus are liable to being physically taken out but 1 badly placed anchor.
Greenland? (Score:1)
Didn't realize Greenland was so repressive.
Vatican City is "severe risk", too.... (Score:4, Funny)
Oh wait...
Re:Greenland? (Score:4, Funny)
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Government censorship isn't the only thing that can shutdown a country's internet. Islands are especially vulnerable since if a fishing trawler accidentally snags your submarine cable, there goes your internet.
Unnacurate list (Score:2)
What if the government that places the order is the oppresive one of the US? Had done commercial embargos for just not liking a foreing country government, escalating to internet embargo is not something that will happen, unless is more effective to keep the connection up and promote/coordinate/finance local rebel groups using it.
And is not just for cutting off access. Spying, intercepting or censoring in a way or another traffic is a risk on a country with few internet connections, unless we are talking
Bitcoin (Score:2)
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Besides, is one party really any more cut off than the other? It's just two separate networks at that point. You can make arbitrary distinctions such as which network is bigger but it's really just two fragments of a former whole with neither side being a more valid network than the other
You really need to be more specific as any answer you get can be handwaved away by a simple moving of the goalpost. Is the country that cuts the internet off small? If so, it has already happened so just read the recent bitcoin history books. Is the country large? How large? Iran large? Japan large? USA large? China? Each one of those scenarios has the potential for a significantly different outcome. State your scenario in detail and you will probably get a better answer.
For a currency that is supposed to be immune to government intervention, it seems this is an area where it suffers significantly.
Don't look now but Bitcoins may be m
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So if a country has its Internet shut off, what are the reprecussions to the Bitcoin network? Does one side of the partition lose the abilty to make transfers, or can you spend the same Bitcoin twice; once in that country, and again on the rest of the network?
Well, that'll never happen, of course. Everyone SAYS that sort of thing is an intrinsic flaw in Bitcoin, but if you knew it as well as The Enlightened Few like me do, you'd obviously see that Bitcoin will [HANDWAVE] which can clearly [HANDWAVE] and [INCREASINGLY COMPLEX HANDWAVING] and that's why paper money is the worstest idea ever and my l33t processing rig will make me the almighty ruler of at least ten small tropical nations with all the hot girls. You'll see! YOU'LL ALL SEE!
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Hmm, your argument is convincing however I think I'm going to stick to stockpiling the one resource that will stand the test of time: gold.
Humor aside, I have yet to see one legitimate breakdown of civilization in the modern world -even a short-lived one like during hurricane Katrina- where the ersatz cash wielding citizenry start going around trading gold dubloons. There is of course always some nuance to satisfy any objection but I find the "gold is the answer" trope dubious in the extreme.
if the internet if cut off (Score:5, Funny)
At least i can still play my diablo III in single player mode...
Lazy reporting by Forbes (and sloppy analysis by R (Score:5, Insightful)
"Ten providers also seems to be the threshold below which one finds significant additional risks from infrastructure sharing — there may be a single cable, or a single physical-layer provider who actually owns most of the infrastructure on which the various providers offer their services."
How many of the 61 at "severe risk" countries are micro-states in the middle of the ocean with a single cable connecting them to the internet? More than half; so nothing too sinister about the size of the "severe risk" category.
Oh - it's nice to see that New Zealand has cemented its place in the list of nice countries who are "extremely resistant" by having more than 40 ISPs - unfortunately there's only one organisation that controls the two connections out of NZ on the Southern Cross Cable [wikipedia.org] So the home of that fiendish master-criminal Mr K. Dot Com should rightly be lumped in with Syria, Libya & that famous hot bed of international crime, The Cook Islands.
Re:Lazy reporting by Forbes (and sloppy analysis b (Score:4, Informative)
How many of the 61 at "severe risk" countries are micro-states in the middle of the ocean with a single cable connecting them to the internet? More than half; so nothing too sinister about the size of the "severe risk" category.
And most of the rest in the poorer countries of Africa, where the answer to the question "Why do you have one ISP?" would be "Because it's one more than zero". Even with monopoly rent it's pretty hard making business on people that are that poor and probably for the most part don't have computers at all. Anyway, I find the numbers quite meaningless since they don't measure physical redundancy, resistance to government interference or consumer choice. Average number of providers available per person would be interesting though, I bet the US would end up in the "extremely high risk" monopoly/duopoly category. Though I guess after that the researchers can forget asking any ISPs for work...
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Probability vs. Damage (Score:1)
One of the great lessons I got from Nassim Talebs writing is that we should pay attention to seemingly improbable events if their impact is huge. Having no internet would be one hell of a Black Swan event. Another is that the likelihood of improbable events are oft
Spelling leading to grammar problem. (Score:1)
I spelling "reckon" incorrectly as recon, you accidentally implied that you had been there and actually reconnoitered (recon for short) what would actually happen should a country loses connectivity.
Needless to say, this probably amused both grammar and spelling Nazis alike. I am neither, and yet I am amused, so I thought you might like this pointed out politely before the flamers arrive...
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I know, I know - a type leading to a grammar problem, the same thing. That should have said "In spelling"...
Too simple (Score:4, Insightful)
Just basing this on how many connections there are is pretty irrelevant. Are we really expecting there to be many unofficial major backbones crossing national borders? Could you really enumerate them if there were? Even assuming some random people have a line (wired or otherwise) across a border for network access, this is probably not going to route the majority of the country's traffic anyway, and is equally unlikely to be counted in this survey.
A real measure would be more like "how likely will an entity have to shut down their connection due to government pressure," but for that you need to analyze the legal system, political situation, history, etc. Of course, that's much more work than simple counting, but I suppose "simple counting" is the most we can expect from a pop media source.
USA USA USA! (Score:2)
Wasn't someone asking for an "OFF" switch for the internets just the other day?
You know, for the sake of the children and national defence and other such fairy tales...
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I thought the Internet was beamed wirelessly from Big Ben
Original Renesys post (Score:5, Insightful)
Why does Slashdot keep linking to secondary sources, like Forbes.com, when the primary source is so easily available? Laziness would be my first guess.
Here is the much-better Renesys blog post: http://www.renesys.com/blog/2012/11/could-it-happen-in-your-countr.shtml [renesys.com]
Questions about their methods of reasoning are the most interesting.
There may be 5 ISPs, each operating their own logical notwork, with their own IP space, servers, and everything--but they may all share the same physical fibre optic cable out of the country--especially if the country is an Island. New Zealand would be a good example of this: it is about 1500 km from Australia, and 1000 km from Fiji. There are only a few submarine fibre optic cables connecting to the rest of the world. Perhaps Southern Cross Cable [wikipedia.org] and SPIN [wikipedia.org] only?
The authors acknowledge they were mostly unable to analyse this, and had to guess about the number of physical conduits. They say they will have more to say about the limited physical connections in the future.
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Thanks. That's just what this individual wanted to see.
Also the map is one of those stupid ones that shows Greenland as much bigger than Australia (i.e. it is more accurate for distance than for geographical area). I wish people would stop using these maps, it doesn't actually matter if the poles are distorted, but it does matter when people think that Greenland is about as big as South America.
Internet meant to withstand nuclear war (Score:2)
Remember that the internet was invented for the specific military purpose of withstanding a nuclear war. Granted a politically motivated attack on the internet would probably be easier since you're actually forcing engineers to go out and pull the kill switch.
Still the best way to keep the internet running is to build out an extreme number of connections to other parts of the internet. Another thing that would force politics to stay out of the internet is to make business extremely reliant on it. One of the
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Remember that the internet was invented for the specific military purpose of withstanding a nuclear war.
[citation needed] [about.com]
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*sigh*
All those internet history lessons in college were wrong!
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Remember that the internet was invented for the specific military purpose of withstanding a nuclear war.
...so we could rebuild human civilization with cats playing the piano and pr0n.
US whould be #1 (Score:1)
Completely ludicrous. (Score:2)
We've already seen quite a few countries are more than happy to pass legislation controlling ISPs. And ISPs tend to be large - and more to the point law abiding companies.
What exactly is the difference between, say, Uzbekistan cutting off each of their few ISPs with international links and the UK passing laws which give the government the power to demand ISPs shut down all international links on short notice? The only real difference is one of them requires some preparation.
I really think that.. (Score:2)
I really think that despite the quoted 40 ISP(s) serving the US's borders, the fact that our new "Emperor Obama" publicly announced that he wanted an Internet kill switch should be enough to put us all on notice!
Not countries (Score:1)
Malaysia? (Score:2)
Usual problem with world maps of things (Score:2)
Without zooming in to the pixel level, I can sort of determine that Israel and Lebanon are the same color, I think. After zooming in I can tell they are both "resistant", simply because they are lighter than the Palestinian Authority, which is, in turn, slightly lighter than Jordan, which is big enough to tell what color it is.
I get this very same problem whenever some !@$#@! thinks it is a good idea to let me choose time zone only by clicking a map. Clicking my location will result, depending on the precis
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I have no idea what is the situation in Lebanon. I do know that Lebanon only has two land bordering countries: Israel, with which I am fairly certain no Internet peering takes place, and Syria. They do have other options, as Syria dropped off the Internet while Lebanon didn't, but, as I said, I don't know what those are.
My information about Israel's infrastructure might be a little outdated.
Israel has four major ISPs, with a few minor ones as well. Israel's unique geo-political situation means that no traff
Research fail. (Score:1)
Australia would be trivial to excise from the internet. The government would need to make precisely two phone calls. I'm sure they've already prepared the road in terms of that contingency.