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The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-day-part-of-the-Internet-apf-1092937415.html?x=0
".................Egypt has apparently done what many technologists thought was unthinkable for any country with a major Internet economy: It unplugged itself entirely from the Internet to try and silence dissent.
Experts say it's unlikely that what's happened in Egypt could happen in the United States because the U.S. has numerous Internet providers and ways of connecting to the Internet. Coordinating a simultaneous shutdown would be a massive undertaking........................"
Control - when government has control it can turn it off. Glad to see it will never happen here - YET!
1stindoor
01-28-2011, 15:12
Experts say it's unlikely
I don't trust "experts" and I don't trust the word "unlikely."
The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-day-part-of-the-Internet-apf-1092937415.html?x=0
".................Egypt has apparently done what many technologists thought was unthinkable for any country with a major Internet economy: It unplugged itself entirely from the Internet to try and silence dissent.
Experts say it's unlikely that what's happened in Egypt could happen in the United States because the U.S. has numerous Internet providers and ways of connecting to the Internet. Coordinating a simultaneous shutdown would be a massive undertaking........................"
Control - when government has control it can turn it off. Glad to see it will never happen here - YET!
Pete Sir,
Just read that on foxnews, AND cell phone service, to boot. Scary thought, because I did not know that Governments could do that...
Come to think of it, am guessing the U.S. Constitution has nothing in it concerning the "right" to online providers/cell phone providers, and so technically Our gov. could do the same???:confused:
Hope that Our Embassy staff there is getting prepared...
Note to self: Must break out some of my Grandpa's old morse code hardbacks....and get equipped.....:lifter
Hmmmm....
Holly:munchin
Between the "internet kill switch" bill (http://www.fastcompany.com/1721753/egypt-internet-kill-switch)and the net-neutrality horse pucky, I think it could easily happen here.
Here are three stories/links that may help provide some insight into various governments and their Internet activities (and Egypt, specifically in the first story).
The final (third) link is a BBC story about what some in the world believe as far as Internet access being a fundamental right.
(1) Reporters without Borders:
Journalists targeted by police violence, arrests
Published on Friday 28 January 2011. Mis a jour le Thursday 27 January 2011.
http://en.rsf.org/egypt-internet-censorship-and-attacks-on-26-01-2011,39400.html
Excerpt:
"Reporters Without Borders roundly condemns police use violence against journalists covering Egypt’s street protests. It is hard to establish exactly how many journalists have been arrested or physically attacked by police officers in the past 48 hours. According to the latest information obtained by Reporters Without Borders, more than a dozen journalists have been arrested.
We urge the Egyptian authorities to allow journalists to work without fear of being arrested or attacked by those who are supposed to protect them. We also call for the immediate release of all the media workers still being held and an end to the blocking of communications. It is essential for the Egyptian people to have access to reliable information about the events of the past few days.
Reporters Without Borders reminds the Egyptian authorities that the United States has urged them not to disrupt online social networks. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton also voiced concern about the arrests of journalists. France has called on Egypt to respect civil liberties including freedom of expression.
Facebook and Twitter are reportedly being blocked intermittently. Telephone communications were blocked today in Suez and the surrounding area because of the many protests being organized in response to the death of three demonstrators in yesterday’s clashes in this port city."
(2) Reporters without Borders another link -- Internet -- a number of descriptions of what is going on in select countries here:
http://en.rsf.org/internet.html
(3) Internet access is 'a fundamental right'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8548190.stm
Excerpt:
"Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.
The survey - of more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries - found strong support for net access on both sides of the digital divide.
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that access is a human right for their citizens.
International bodies such as the UN are also pushing for universal net access."
Dozer523
01-28-2011, 17:06
Hope that Our Embassy staff there is getting prepared...
Ever seen the Embassy in Cairo? It's a damn fort.
well now that's interesting . . . went to find a picture; and none of the links associated with "US embassy cairo" could be reached.
Ever seen the Embassy in Cairo? It's a damn fort.
well now that's interesting . . . went to find a picture; and none of the links associated with "US embassy cairo" came up.
Dozer Sir,
No Sir...The only American Embassy I have ever seen from outside and in, is in Peru.
Just saw an inteview on Fox with one of the Iranian Embassy hostages from the days of the Sha, and he was saying the Marine Guard was not responsible for the security outside the Embassy, but that the host Country was.
Holly
Two Egypt threads, figured this one makes the most sense.
BT
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/01/28/clinton-aide-twitter-revolts-like-in-egypt-take-just-weeks
By Paul Bedard
Clinton Aide: Twitter Revolts, Like in Egypt, Take Just Weeks
Posted: January 28, 2011
Share ThisBeware the social media organized revolutions taking place in countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Albania. A top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says they work, and fast.
Alec Ross, Clinton's senior adviser for innovation, says that with online tools and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, uprisings can flash together quickly and results can come quickly.
"Revolutions no longer take months," he told an audience at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., this week. "They take weeks." Why? The Internet. "You can go from zero to 60 like that," he says, according to our Suzi Parker who covered his speech.
Ross says that "connection technologies" act as accelerants for revolutions. The days of meetings in basements and safe houses to organize are over, but he says governments can also wield social media for their own reasons. "Networks disrupt for good and for ill," he says.
Anticipating Friday's protests, Egypt moved to shut down cellular phone and Internet service.
But Ross, who has over 300,000 Twitter followers, says that governments like Tunisia and Egypt should not "batten down the hatches" and cut off communications. As Ross tweeted early Friday, "The USA continues to urge the Govt of #Egypt to allow peaceful demonstrations and no blocking of communications, including Internet."
Check out our gallery of Whispers political caricatures.
See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.
Team Sergeant
01-29-2011, 08:06
The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-day-part-of-the-Internet-apf-1092937415.html?x=0
".................Egypt has apparently done what many technologists thought was unthinkable for any country with a major Internet economy: It unplugged itself entirely from the Internet to try and silence dissent.
Experts say it's unlikely that what's happened in Egypt could happen in the United States because the U.S. has numerous Internet providers and ways of connecting to the Internet. Coordinating a simultaneous shutdown would be a massive undertaking........................"
Control - when government has control it can turn it off. Glad to see it will never happen here - YET!
Egypt = Dictatorship always has been. Most Middle Eastern countries are dictatorships, just "labeled" differently. There is no free speech in any of these countries.
Pete, Every time I entertain the idea that something like that could happen in the USA I take into account the 2000 or so "Green Hatted" individuals on active duty and the 10,000+ former "Green Hatted" individuals alive today all over the USA (and world). That coupled with all the men of the US Special Operations combined (former and active), I sleep very well at night.
Besides, our military would not allow a dictatorship to occur, it cannot, we are sworn to defend a piece of paper, not an office with a label.
And, these "weapons systems" do not have an off switch.
The only way to bring this nation to its knees would be to destroy it from within.........
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.~Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
When it comes to the WWW and the USA, I seriously doubt the US Govt would ever have either the temerity or the ability to shut it down because of the preponderance of effin' Übergeeks living here. They built and own the Web - it's their electronic Bill of Rights and they're adamant about it.
Ever see what a bunch of those guys can do when they get riled and start poundin' their keyboards...:eek: :eek:
Richard :munchin
Someone is putting out the message re Egyptian revolution:
http://www.egyptianrevolution.com/
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/as-egypt-goes-offline-us-gets-internet-kill-switch-bill-ready-20110131-1aah3.html
As Egypt's government attempts to crackdown on street protests by shutting down internet and mobile phone services, the US is preparing to reintroduce a bill that could be used to shut down the internet.
The legislation, which would grant US President Barack Obama powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet, would soon be reintroduced to a senate committee, Wired.com reported.
It was initially introduced last year but expired with a new Congress.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Angry scenes ... protesters gather at the statue of Alexander the Great in Cairo to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak Photo: AFP/Topshots
Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.
“My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sector in the event of a true cyber emergency,” Collins said in an emailed statement to Wired. “It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat.”
The proposed legislation, introduced into the US Senate by independent senator Joe Lieberman, who is chairman of the US Homeland Security committee, seeks to grant the President broad emergency powers over the internet in times of national emergency.
Last year, Lieberman argued the bill was necessary to "preserve those networks and assets and our country and protect our people".
He said that, for all its allure, the internet could also be a "dangerous place with electronic pipelines that run directly into everything from our personal bank accounts to key infrastructure to government and industrial secrets".
US economic security, national security and public safety were now all at risk from new kinds of enemies, including "cyber warriors, cyber spies, cyber terrorists and cyber criminals".
Although the bill was targetted at protecting the US, many have said it would also affect other nations.
One of Australia's top communications experts, University of Sydney associate professor Bjorn Landfeldt, had previously railed against the idea, saying shutting down the internet would "inflict an enormous damage on the entire world".
He said it would be like giving a single country "the right to poison the atmosphere, or poison the ocean".
The scale of Egypt's crackdown on the internet and mobile phones amid deadly protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak is unprecedented in the history of the web, experts have said.
US President Barack Obama, social networking sites and rights groups around the world all condemned the moves by Egyptian authorities to stop activists using mobile phones and cyber technology to organise rallies.
"It's a first in the history of the internet," Rik Ferguson, an expert for Trend Micro, the world's third biggest computer security firm, said.
Julien Coulon, co-founder of Cedexis, a French internet performance monitoring and traffic management system, added: "In 24 hours we have lost 97 per cent of Egyptian internet traffic".
Despite this, many Egyptians are finding ways to get access, some using international telephone numbers to gain access to dial-up internet.
According to Renesys, a US Internet monitoring company, Egypt's four main internet service providers cut off international access to their customers in a near simultaneous move at 2234 GMT on Thursday.
Around 23 million Egyptians have either regular or occasional access to the internet, according to official figures, more than a quarter of the population.
"In an action unprecedented in internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the internet," James Cowie of Renesys said in a blog post.
Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt and Etisalat Misr were all off air but Cowie said one exception was the Noor Group, which still has 83 live routes to its Egyptian customers.
He said it was not clear why the Noor Group was apparently unaffected "but we observe that the Egyptian Stock Exchange (www.egyptse.com) is still alive at a Noor address."
Mobile telephone networks were also severely disrupted in the country on Friday. Phone signals were patchy and text messages inoperative.
British-based Vodafone said all mobile operators in Egypt had been "instructed" Friday to suspend services in some areas amid spiralling unrest, adding that under Egyptian law it was "obliged" to comply with the order.
Egyptian operator ECMS, linked to France's Telecom-Orange, said the authorities had ordered them to shut them off late Thursday.
"We had no warning, it was quite sudden," a spokesman for Telecom-Orange told AFP in France.
The shutdown in Egypt is the most comprehensive official electronic blackout of its kind, experts said.
Links to the web were cut for only a few days during a wave of protests against Myanmar's ruling military junta in 2007, while demonstrations against the re-election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 specifically targeted Twitter and Facebook.
Egypt – like Tunisia where mass popular unrest drove out Zine El Abidine Ben Ali earlier this month – is on a list of 13 countries classed as "enemies of the internet" by media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
"So far there has been no systematic filtering by Egyptian authorities – they have completely controlled the whole internet," said Soazig Dollet, the Middle East and North Africa specialist for RSF.
Condemnation of Egypt's internet crackdown has been widespread.
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Cairo to restore the internet and social networking sites.
Facebook, the world's largest social network with nearly 600 million members, and Twitter also weighed in.
"Although the turmoil in Egypt is a matter for the Egyptian people and their government to resolve, limiting Internet access for millions of people is a matter of concern for the global community," said Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman.
Twitter, which has more than 175 million registered users, said of efforts to block the service in Egypt: "We believe that the open exchange of info & views benefits societies & helps govts better connect w/ their people."
US digital rights groups also criticised the Egyptian government.
"This action is inconsistent with all international human rights norms, and is unprecedented in internet history," said Leslie Harris, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology in the United States.
The talking head helping this along?
".......Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.............."
RINOs - Bah, humbug!
The talking head helping this along?
".......Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.............."
RINOs - Bah, humbug!
If that is truly the case, what would her (their) purpose be? I wonder if she thought that one out before making that statement?:confused::rolleyes:
1stindoor
01-31-2011, 15:26
When it comes to the WWW and the USA, I seriously doubt the US Govt would ever have either the temerity or the ability to shut it down because of the preponderance of effin' Übergeeks living here. They built and own the Web - it's their electronic Bill of Rights and they're adamant about it.
Ever see what a bunch of those guys can do when they get riled and start poundin' their keyboards...:eek: :eek:
Richard :munchin
Yep, and so have several businesses for refusing to deal with wikileaks. Matter of fact our own house was hit with a DDoS not that long ago. They (the "man") don't have to shut off all of it...just hamper enough of it to accomplish their goals.
Think CARVER, how long do you want it taken down, how fast do you want it back up, and what's our target audience?
Puzzling since their economy is booming, their numbers are real, and the country is stable...
The Chinese government is blocking access to searches for the word “Egypt” on social networking Internet sites in China. Experts say the move reflects the government’s fears that the protests in Egypt could whip up unrest in China.
A search for the Chinese word for “Egypt” on the microblog function of Chinese Web portal Sina.com brings up a message saying the results can not be displayed.
Sina.com public relations officer Ma Taotao confirms that Chinese searches for Egypt are blocked on its instant messaging site, Sina Weibo.
Ma says the company itself did not make the decision, but is only following the “relevant Chinese laws and regulations.” He gives no details and does not say which government department is responsible. He says he does not know how long the restriction will be in force.
The Chinese government already blocks Internet access to online social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, which are based in the United States. But millions of Chinese have been able to use domestic microblogging sites for instant messaging services.
Jeremy Goldkorn runs the China media Web site Danwei.org, which tracks changes in China’s media and Internet.
"I haven’t seen any instruction from any of the Chinese information control government bodies, but I think there must have been some instruction going out to news organizations and Web sites to only use official Xinhua copy about the events in Egypt and Tunisia, and to de-emphasize and cut down on netizens discussion about this," Goldkorn said.
The widespread use of the Internet is a relatively new development in China, but Goldkorn says the government has moved to limit access to information about other recent global events.
"There was a similar type of censorship when there were the so-called color revolutions going on in Eastern Europe, and I think that the reasons are fairly obvious - that the government would prefer that the people don’t draw parallels to what is going on in Egypt with anything that could go on in China," Goldkorn added.
Renmin University international relations professor Shi Yinhong echoes that thinking.
"Above all, their (the Chinese government’s) first priority is to maintain social and political stability," Shi said.
Shi says the government has been concerned with public unrest since it cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations around the country in 1989. He describes this kind of nervousness as China’s current political culture.
"This kind of political culture will shape China for a long time. So, within China, everyone knows that our government is extremely concerned about weiwang," Shi added.
"Weiwang" means maintaining social stability.
Peking University International relations professor Zhu Feng describes efforts to control Web access to information about Egypt as a "preventative countermeasure."
Zhu says there are existing situations of social instability in China, and the government is especially nervous because it is the Lunar New Year holiday period.
China has long feared what it considers separatist movements in its Xinjiang region and Tibet. It also has concerns about public anger over official corruption, inflation, land seizures and other social concerns that have sparked protests in the past few years.
Zhu says he thinks the Internet has become the most effective tool to disseminate news.
Zhu says he is afraid that cutting off the Internet will become a government’s universal method for dealing with a popular uprising.
The Egyptian government cut off Internet access in the country because of concerns that protesters were using social network media to organize their activities. In recent years, countries like China and Iran have made similar moves following mass protests.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/China-Blocks-Some-Internet-Reports-on-Egypt-Protests-114925514.html
Dozer523
01-31-2011, 15:34
".......Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.............."
RINOs - Bah, humbug! a Republican who is a proud sponsor of the repeal of DADT. and now belives the Government should be able to control access to information and free expression.
I can hear you screaming:D
DJ Urbanovsky
01-31-2011, 16:58
I think if gov were going to "shut off the Internet," they'd probably go about it by hindering access to DNS. You could cut fiber links, but that'd be way more expensive to bring back on line. But it's questionable whether or not it's even feasible for them to accomplish such a thing, considering the distributed nature of DNS. However, if they went after the root servers...
There are 12 organizations that provide root name service. They are:
A - VeriSign Global Registry Services
B - University of Southern California - Information Sciences Institute
C - Cogent Communications
D - University of Maryland
E - NASA Ames Research Center
F - Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.
G - U.S. DOD Network Information Center
H - U.S. Army Research Lab
I - Autonomica/NORDUnet
J - VeriSign Global Registry Services
K - RIPE NCC
L - ICANN
M - WIDE Project
Can gov get at all of those?
Another likely route would be for gov to put the screws to telecom service providers. Some guys from the NSA or the Justice dept walk into the regional HQ of XYZ ISP bearing paperwork with important signatures on it, and order said ISP to take their servers off line. Think they'd do it? Maybe a version of STUXNET surfaces that targets US infrastructure, and "Internet access MUST be disabled to stop the spread of it?" In the name of national security?
The important question is: Does the possibility exist for such an event to actually take place? Does gov possess the means? Do they possess the will?
Who is more technologically advanced, gov of Egypt, or gov of US? I'd hazard a guess that it's US. So if Egypt can pull this off...
Then again, it might actually be easier for Egypt to pull this off because they are less technologically advanced than us... Fewer switches to throw, so to speak.
The Reaper
01-31-2011, 17:11
Pull the plug on non-governmental access to gov servers and initiate DoS attacks on the remaining root servers.
The load of users trying to access the remaining system(s) would probably take them down.
Use the government approved media outlets to blame the opposition for it.
Good thing this is being proposed by Dims and not the evil Republicans. No First Amendment issue there.:rolleyes:
TR
Dozer Sir,
No Sir...The only American Embassy I have ever seen from outside and in, is in Peru.
Just saw an inteview on Fox with one of the Iranian Embassy hostages from the days of the Sha, and he was saying the Marine Guard was not responsible for the security outside the Embassy, but that the host Country was.
Holly
Every embassy I have been to hires locals for outside and the marine guard is for interior security. The folks in the embassy in Cairo are holed up really well. Let's hope it stays that way.
Every embassy I have been to hires locals for outside and the marine guard is for interior security. The folks in the embassy in Cairo are holed up really well. Let's hope it stays that way.
From those whom I've known who have BTDT, all wished for more water.
From those whom I've known who have BTDT, all wished for more water.
True, especially someplace like Egypt where the local water can not be consumed.
Once you kick the GeeksRUs ant mound and offer them a challenge by attempting to shut down their raison d'être... ;)
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
Google Activates Voicemail Tweeting Workaround for Egyptians
AtlanticWire, 1 Feb 2011
Days ago the Egyptian government blocked access to the internet, including social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. In response, Google has announced a little bit of "weekend work" intended to give Egyptian citizens the "the ability for anyone to tweet using just a voice connection" via their new SayNow service:
We worked with a small team of engineers from Twitter, Google and SayNow, a company we acquired last week, to make this idea a reality. It’s already live and anyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.
Will Google's service be helpful to Egyptians? Here's what tech reporters are saying:
•Explaining the SayNow Service "SayNow is founded on a somewhat unlikely-sounding premise," explains Richard Waters at The Financial Times. "It’s a social media service that revolves around voice. Anyone trying to connect with a fanbase – say, a TV series or a band – can issue a phone number, then fans ring in to leave messages, or can hear ones left by other fans or by the stars they’re interested in. Once in a while the phone might get answered by a star in person.The rationale behind SayNow is that some people just prefer to connect with voice. But as the situation in Egypt demonstrates, there are other reasons why voice calls could have a long future in one-to-many internet communications."
•It's 'Dressed Up As a Philanthropic Gesture' but its more like a showcase to "promote the Saynow phone service it bought last month," figures Rob Coppinger at Inquirer.net. "While the Internet deprived population of the world's oldest advanced civilisation may appreciate a way of phoning in a tweet and making a call to listen to people's gibberish up to a maximum of 140 characters, they probably have more pressing matters like protecting their homes from looters." Also, Coppinger notes: "Google says the speak-a-tweet service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt but its not obvious looking at the twitter feed for that tag that huge numbers of people are using it."
•Not the Most Elegant Solution, "but it works and it shows that even though this is a US-based solution, the ingenuity of people seeking freedom can indeed be difficult to stop," blogs Rich Tehrani at TMCNet. There's caveats, of course: " The government could always cut off landlines too if they so chose and in theory that would put an end to this service being useful. Satellite users would be the exception of course. The government can also track the callers to the special international numbers Google has set up – and in repressive regimes, that can be a major problem for callers – especially if the protests die down."
•Message to Mubarak and His Ilk: There's Always a Workaround observes Sam Diaz at ZDNet: "It’s a powerful message that Google - as well as the people from Egypt who are already using the service - are sending to government’s who try to stifle Web-based communications. They may be able to pull the plug, but the innovative spirit in Silicon Valley will find a workaround."
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Google-Activates-Voicemail-Tweeting-Workaround-for-Egyptians-6797
1stindoor
02-01-2011, 12:25
Explaining the SayNow Service "SayNow is founded on a somewhat unlikely-sounding premise," explains Richard Waters at The Financial Times. "It’s a social media service that revolves around voice.
Like a conversation?...one on one interaction...no good can come from this "tech--nol--ogy."
Once in a while the phone might get answered by a star in person...
I'm scared...hold me
Not the Most Elegant Solution, "but it works and it shows that even though this is a US-based solution, the ingenuity of people seeking freedom can indeed be difficult to stop,"
Hmmmm....the irony is strong with this one.
The government can also track the callers to the special international numbers Google has set up – and in repressive regimes, that can be a major problem for callers – especially if the protests die down.
THIS JUST IN...Humans must have oxygen to
survive!...Stay tuned for further developments from CPT Obvious
Before they ever went to shut it down, they would try things like having a pro stance on self censorship (not applicable to them of course), political corectedness, and probably start to throw around terms like "net neutrality." Hmmm....