Iraq 'largely offline' amid mass protests

The internet was down across most of Iraq on Thursday, the third day of protests called for on social media, with a monitor saying "intentional restrictions" by major providers caused the near-blackout.

Iraqis protesting in the capital and southern cities have struggled to communicate with each other or post footage of the chaotic demonstrations since Wednesday.

Restrictions were first limited to some social media sites but were expanded later Wednesday, leaving Iraq "largely offline," according to cybersecurity monitor NetBlocks.

By Thursday morning, approximately three quarters of the country including the capital Baghdad was disconnected after major network operators Earthlink, Asiacell and Zain "intentionally restricted" access, a NetBlocks study found.

The north, including the autonomous Kurdish region, is connected to the web through a different system and was therefore unaffected by the blackout, it said.

Iraqi authorities cut off internet access last year in response to mass protests in southern Iraq.

Those outages followed a similar pattern: social media was unavailable at first before a wider internet blackout across the entire country.

No Iraqi authorities have commented on the blackout.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Ransomware hits hundreds of US schools, local governments: study
Washington (AFP) Oct 1, 2019
Hundreds of US municipalities, schools and health organizations have been hit by ransomware in 2019, leading to massive service disruptions, researchers said Tuesday. The security firm Emsisoft said at least 621 government entities, healthcare providers and school districts, colleges and universities were affected by ransomware in the first nine months of 2019. The attacks which lock up computer networks if a ransom is not paid has led to disruption of municipal and medical services and the clos ... read more