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What would happen if, in the course of some war or conflict, China or Russia or some other rogue actor decide to disrupt the internet? The entire world relies on technology and inter-connectivity. If this global system collapses, would it be catastrophic or manageable?

Disrupting the internet on a global scale would involve targeting critical network infrastructure such as undersea cables, internet exchange points (IXPs), and major data centers which China and Russia are likely capable of doing.

Many regions would immediately lose connectivity, especially those heavily dependent on international data links. Even if not completely severed or entirely disrupted, bad network performance would lead to significant slowdowns and congestion due to rerouted traffic. Key online services, including cloud computing platforms, would certainly be disrupted, affecting businesses and individuals reliant on these important services.

Naturally, such a disruption will expose vulnerabilities in data security and integrity and attackers would likely exploit the chaos to breach sensitive data.

Significant data loss could occur if disruptions affect data centers, and it is highly likely that encrypted communications will be intercepted or disrupted, affecting secure data transfer.

In the event of such a catastrophic internet meltdown, IT operations would face numerous challenges. Hopefully, the IT guys are prepared for such a scenario.

Companies generally need robust incident response plans to quickly adapt to the changing network landscape - even more so in the event of a catastrophic internet breakdown. This means ensuring that backup systems are up-to-date and capable of handling increased loads or manual failovers.

IT teams would need to be on the lookout and maintain heightened vigilance against cyber-attacks such as phishing, malware, or ransomware attacks.

Of course, this is just the tech side of it.

The deliberate disruption of the internet would be seen as a highly provocative act and would require a serious international response.

The European Union and the United States, among other countries, will be expected to leverage severe diplomatic repercussions with widespread international condemnation and potential sanctions.

Cyber warfare, as real as it is now, may escalate into broader warfare, and affected nations will likely need to respond with retaliatory cyber-attacks, if there is any internet at all.

An attack on the internet by a rogue nation would likely lead to new alliances, cybersecurity treaties, and agreements among other countries.

Of course, it goes without saying that a large-scale internet disruption would have far-reaching economic consequences.

Global trade and supply chains will be heavily disrupted, affecting everything from financial markets to logistics. Businesses can expect significant economic losses due to the halt of online business operations and services.

Without a doubt, there will be massive upheaval in global stock markets due to uncertainty and loss of confidence.

The societal implications of such an event would be profound.

There would likely be widespread public panic and social unrest due to loss of access to information and communication tools.

As reliable news sources become inaccessible, we can expect to see an increase in misinformation and propaganda being spread.

It should be clear by now that the disruption of the internet would have a cascade of effects, from technical and operational challenges to significant geopolitical and societal impacts. Both IT experts and foreign affairs specialists would need to work together to navigate the immediate crisis and to develop strategies for enhancing resilience and security in the long term.

If anything, this proves that the global dependency on internet infrastructure is dangerous and there is a need for resilient, decentralized alternatives.

Read more:
Can We Survive Without Internet? - hackernoon.com