Skip to content

Taking Down the Internet

Published:
September 15, 2016
Author:
Ariel Conn

Contents

Imagine the world without Internet. Not what the world was like before Internet, but what would happen in today’s world if the Internet suddenly went down.

How many systems today rely on the Internet to run smoothly? If the Internet were to go down, that would disrupt work, government, financial transactions, communications, shipments, travel, entertainment – nearly every aspect of modern life could be brought to a halt. If someone were able to intentionally take down the Internet, how much damage could they cause?

Cybersecurity expert, Bruce Schneier, recently wrote a post, Someone is Learning to Take Down the Internet, which highlights the increasing number of attacks focused on “probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet.”

In his post, Schneier explains that someone — he suspects a large nation state like Russia or China — has been systematically testing and probing various large and important Internet companies for weaknesses. He says companies like Verisign, which registers many major web and email addresses, have seen increasing, large-scale attacks against their systems. The attackers are forcing the companies to mount various defenses in response, giving the attackers a better idea of what defense capabilities the companies have and where their defenses may be weak.

Schneier writes, “Someone is extensively testing the core defensive capabilities of the companies that provide critical Internet services. […] It feels like a nation’s military cybercommand trying to calibrate its weaponry in the case of cyberwar. It reminds me of the US’s Cold War program of flying high-altitude planes over the Soviet Union to force their air-defense systems to turn on, to map their capabilities.”

At the moment, there doesn’t appear to be much that can be done about these attacks, but at the very least, as Schneier says, “people should know.”

Read Schneier’s full article here.

This content was first published at futureoflife.org on September 15, 2016.

About the Future of Life Institute

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a global non-profit with a team of 20+ full-time staff operating across the US and Europe. FLI has been working to steer the development of transformative technologies towards benefitting life and away from extreme large-scale risks since its founding in 2014. Find out more about our mission or explore our work.

Our content

Related content

Other posts about ,

If you enjoyed this content, you also might also be interested in:

Poll Shows Broad Popularity of CA SB1047 to Regulate AI

A new poll from the AI Policy Institute shows broad and overwhelming support for SB1047, a bill to evaluate the risk of catastrophic harm posed by AI models.
23 July, 2024

FLI Praises AI Whistleblowers While Calling for Stronger Protections and Regulation 

We need to strengthen current whistleblower protections. Lawmakers should act immediately to pass legal measures that provide the protection these individuals deserve.
16 July, 2024

Designing Governance for Transformative AI: Top Proposals from the FLI & Foresight Institute Hackathon

FLI partnered with the Foresight Institute to host a hackathon to explore the design of institutions for the governance of AI. Here we showcase the three winning institutions.
8 May, 2024

US Senate Hearing ‘Oversight of AI: Principles for Regulation’: Statement from the Future of Life Institute

We implore Congress to immediately regulate these systems before they cause irreparable damage, and provide five principles for effective oversight.
25 July, 2023
Our content

Sign up for the Future of Life Institute newsletter

Join 40,000+ others receiving periodic updates on our work and cause areas.
cloudmagnifiercrossarrow-up linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram