Cybersecurity and internet infrastructure company Cloudflare has released the data and insights on the Internet Disruptions that were observed across their network in Q2 2023. The report intends to provide an overview of observed disruptions and is not an exhaustive or complete list of issues that have occurred during the quarter. Some of the notable findings are:
- The second quarter of 2023 was a particularly busy one for Internet disruptions, and especially for government-directed Internet shutdowns.
- In addition to the government-directed Internet shutdowns, Cloudflare also observed partial or complete outages due to severe weather, cable damage, power outages, general or unspecified technical problems, cyberattacks, military action, and infrastructure maintenance.
- Internet shutdowns are unfortunately frequent in India, with digital rights organization Access Now reporting at least 84 shutdowns within the country in 2022. The shutdowns are generally implemented at a more local level and often last for a significant amount of time.
- One such shutdown took place in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur starting on May 3 after the escalation of ethnic conflict, and was reportedly intended to “thwart the design and activities of anti-national and anti-social elements… by stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumors” and the likelihood of “serious disturbances to the entire peaceful coexistence of the communities and maintenance of public order”. Mobile data services were initially suspended for a five-day period, with the suspension continually extended through additional templated orders issued every five days.
- The graphs below show the impact of the ordered shutdown to traffic from two major network providers in Manipur. Traffic from both AS45609 (Airtel) and AS9829 (BSNL) fell significantly around 18:00 local time (12:30 UTC) on May 4. Traffic on Airtel has remained low and continued to drop further through the end of June. Traffic on BSNL showed slight signs of recovery starting in early June but remains extremely low.
- The shutdown order remains in place as of the time of this writing (late July).
Dive into the full report here and let us know if you’d like to speak to a spokesperson about the most recent findings.
Conclusion
Because of how tightly interwoven the Internet has become with commerce, financial services, and everyday life around the world, any disruption to Internet connectivity ultimately carries an economic impact. The providers impacted by disruptions caused by unexpected or unavoidable events such as cable cuts or severe weather generally try to minimize the scope and duration of such disruptions, ultimately limiting the economic impact. However, in the case of government-directed Internet shutdowns, the damage to the economy is ultimately self-inflicted. The Internet Society’s new Net Loss Calculator now provides a way to quantify this damage, enabling the public, advocacy groups, and governments themselves to understand the potential cost of an Internet shutdown from gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and unemployment perspectives.
