In trouble spots around the world, where protesters take to the streets to protest a repressive regime, it is not uncommon for authorities to crack down on Internet access, targeting social sites like Facebook and Twitter in an effort to disrupt the demonstrations.
But Egypt is taking it to a whole other level.
Ahead of a planned day of massive protests, Egyptian authorities directed ISPs to cut off Internet service in that country. Firms that monitor network traffic noticed that roughly 3,500 Border Gateway Protocol paths were withdrawn, effectively taking it off the global grid.
“The Egyptian government’s actions tonight have essentially wiped their country from the global map,” said James Cowie, CTO at the Internet intelligence firm Renesys.
Wireless service providers have been hit with a similar directive, Vodafone has confirmed.
Datamation takes a look at the Internet crackdown in Egypt.