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Techday NZ
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Techday NZ
Cloudflare report reveals surge in internet shutdowns & outages
Cloudflare has released its Q2 2025 Internet Disruptions Report, outlining a series of significant global disruptions to Internet connectivity caused by government actions, infrastructure failures, fibre optic cable damage and cyberattacks. Return of shutdowns This quarter, Cloudflare observed a return of government-directed Internet shutdowns in several countries, reversing the positive trend seen in the previous quarter. The report states, "In our Q1 2025 summary post, we noted that we had not observed any government-directed Internet shutdowns during the quarter. Unfortunately, that forward progress was short-lived - in the second quarter of 2025, we observed shutdowns in Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Panama." Multiple shutdowns were enforced in Libya, particularly following public protests against the Government of National Unity. In Iran, a series of three shutdowns in June followed escalating regional tensions and claims of cyber threats to national infrastructure. The government stated, "In light of the country's special circumstances and based on the measures taken by the competent authorities, temporary restrictions have been imposed on the country's Internet. It is obvious that these restrictions will be lifted once normal conditions are restored." "We have previously stated that if necessary, we will certainly switch to a national internet and restrict global internet access. Security is our main concern, and we are witnessing cyberattacks on the country's critical infrastructure and disruptions in the functioning of banks. Many of the enemy's drones are managed and controlled via the internet, and a large amount of information is exchanged this way. A cryptocurrency exchange was also hacked, and considering all these issues, we have decided to impose Internet restrictions." Iraq and Syria continued their practice of exam-related shutdowns. In Iraq, regular outages spanning hours took place across both the main part of the country and the Kurdistan region, aimed at preventing cheating during national school exams. In Syria, the 2025 shutdowns targeted only cellular connectivity and were limited to times and regions near exam centres. In Panama, shutdowns were implemented in the province of Bocas del Toro amid protests, driven by official instructions with service restoration tracking the cessation of related demonstrations. The regulator stated, "...in compliance with Cabinet Decree No. 27 of June 20, 2025, and by formal instruction from the Ministry of Government, the temporary suspension of mobile telephony and residential internet services in the province of Bocas del Toro has been coordinated." A subsequent update confirmed, "... Internet and cellular telephone services in the province of Bocas del Toro have been restored as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 30..." Power infrastructure failures Major power outages also impacted Internet connectivity, most notably across Portugal and Spain on 28 April. In Portugal, traffic dropped by approximately 50 percent immediately, further declining to 90 percent below normal levels within five hours. Spain experienced a similar reduction, with a 60 percent initial drop, falling to an 80 percent reduction over five hours. Internet traffic in both countries recovered as the power was restored early the following day. Morocco's Orange Maroc reported international connectivity problems resulting from the Iberian power outage, and smaller-scale incidents in Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, North Macedonia, the Maldives and Curaçao all led to significant local disruptions. Physical cable damage Fibre optic infrastructure damage was another notable cause. In Haiti, two instances of damage to Digicel Haiti's fibre optic cables resulted in the provider and its networks going offline for several hours in May. In a translated statement, Digicel Haiti's Director General explained the cause. Airtel Malawi experienced a 90-minute outage on 24 June due to vandalism of their fibre lines, with service interruptions affecting both IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity. Cyberattacks and technical faults The report highlights the impact of cyber threats and operational problems at major service providers. Russian internet operator ASVT was hit by a major distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, causing an 10-hour outage and continued disruption over several days. The attack reportedly reached 70.07 Gbps and 6.92 million packets per second, causing traffic to collapse to near zero for the period. Technical missteps also caused issues in other markets. Bell Canada suffered a significant, albeit brief, outage due to a router update in May, while Lumen/CenturyLink users in North America lost connectivity for several hours after suspected DNS-related issues. Bell Canada's quick response restored service within an hour after rolling back the problematic update. Unexplained disruptions The report also includes cases where the underlying causes were not disclosed or remain unknown. Outages in Finland (Telia), the Philippines (SkyCable), Thailand (TrueMove H), and Syria included sharp drops in traffic and disruptions to network address announcements, but few official details were made available. Regional implications The report underscores the increasing challenges faced by all nations dependent on digital infrastructure. For Australia and New Zealand, the findings raise concerns regarding their own cyber readiness and the resilience of critical regional networks in the event of cascading failures caused by events abroad. The interconnected nature of Internet and power infrastructure means that issues in distant markets can reverberate globally. Cloudflare's analysts concluded their summary stating, "Government-directed Internet shutdowns returned with a vengeance in the second quarter, and that trend continues into the third quarter, though the latest ones have been exam-related, and not driven by protests. And while power-outage related Internet disruptions have frequently been observed in the past, often in smaller countries with less stable infrastructure, the massive outage in Spain and Portugal on April 28 reminds us that much like the Internet, electrical infrastructure is often interconnected across countries, meaning that problems in one can potentially cause significant problems in others."
Al Jazeera
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ecuador accuses ‘bad losers' of assassination plot against President Noboa
Ecuador has declared a state of 'maximum alert' over an assassination plot against President Daniel Noboa. In a statement entitled 'The revenge of the bad losers' issued early on Saturday, the Ministry of Government said 'all security protocols have been activated' due to the threat emanating from 'criminal organizations, in collusion with political groups defeated at the polls'. Noboa was re-elected earlier this month, promising to continue a crackdown on rampant cartel violence that plagues Ecuador. His opponent, Luisa Gonzalez, has continued to insist that the vote was fraudulent. The statement follows the leak earlier this week of a military intelligence report that said assassins entering Ecuador from Mexico and other countries planned to carry out 'terrorist attacks' against Noboa. The government statement alleges that 'bad losers' from the recent April 13 election hired sicarios (hitmen) from Mexico and other countries in a bid to destabilise the government. 'The state is on high alert. All security protocols have been activated, and the Armed Forces, the National Police, and intelligence agencies are working together,' it reads. Quoting intelligence sources, it reports 'the plotting of an assassination, terrorist attacks, and street riots through violent demonstrations'. The plot targets 'the life of the President of the Republic, state authorities, and public officials', it said. Although not offering names, the statement appears to accuse the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC5) of which Gonzalez is leader and that is linked to former President Rafael Correa, of planning the attack. Media reports in Ecuador also suggested that support may have been forthcoming from foreign leaders including President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. Amid a diplomatic fallout that launched last year, Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that Mexico would not restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador as long as Noboa remains in office. The Mexican leader had publicly supported Gonzalez in the election. The reported assassination plot comes amid a pattern of escalating violence in Ecuador, including the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023. Rampant violence by criminal gangs involved in trafficking from the world's biggest cocaine producers, neighbouring Peru and Colombia, has also blighted the country. In the latest instance, at least 12 people were killed on Friday in an attack in the coastal province of Manabi as gunmen dressed in fake military uniforms opened fire on spectators at a cockfight. Noboa declared an 'internal armed conflict' to combat drug gangs in January last year, reflecting the country's ongoing struggle with organised crime. Alongside a promise to boost the country's flagging economy, that was seen as key to helping him win re-election earlier this month. However, Gonzalez, who had entered the run-off vote following a tight first round in February and claimed 'grotesque' fraud, said late on Wednesday that she plans to contest the results with the elections authority.
Arab News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Ecuador on ‘maximum alert' over alleged assassination plot
QUITO: Ecuador is on maximum alert over an alleged assassination plot against recently reelected President Daniel Noboa, the government said on Saturday. Noboa won the race in an April 13 runoff vote, but his main rival Luisa Gonzalez has accused him of committing 'grotesque electoral fraud.' A military intelligence report saying that assassins entering Ecuador from Mexico and other countries planned to carry out 'terrorist attacks' against Noboa was leaked on social media this week. 'We strongly condemn and repudiate any intention against the life of the president of the Republic, state authorities or public officials,' Ecuador's Ministry of Government said in a statement early Saturday. 'The state is on maximum alert,' it added. The government accused 'criminal structures in complicity with political sectors defeated at the polls' of hatching the plot, though it did not offer any specific names. Ecuador's electoral council and international observers have dismissed claims of fraud in the runoff vote, but Mexico and Colombia have yet to officially recognize Noboa's win. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed support for leftist Gonzalez, who has said she will seek a recount. Mexico severed ties with the South American nation a year ago after security forces stormed its embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president granted asylum. Noboa, who is expected to be sworn in on May 24, faces the herculean task of uniting his violence-plagued nation, which averaged a killing every hour at the start of the year as cartels vied for control over drug smuggling routes.
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-03-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
At Least 37 Dead, Dozens Injured in Bolivia Bus Crash
A crash involving two buses in Bolivia left at least 37 people dead and dozens injured in the western Potosi region, police and local authorities said on Saturday. The accident happened during the early morning hours on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane. "As a result of this fatal accident we have 39 people injured in four hospitals in the town of Uyuni, and 37 people have lost their lives," a spokesman for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi told reporters. Police personnel are working to identify people who were killed and those who were injured and hospitalized, the spokesperson added. At the scene, a crane turned over one of the buses, which had rolled over onto its side, and police officers were seen removing bodies from the crashed vehicles and carrying them away wrapped in blankets. According to the preliminary investigation, one of the buses encroached into the oncoming lane, presumably due to speeding, and caused the collision, the Bolivian Ministry of Government said in a statement.
