mastodon 4.8.0-alpha.3+glitchInternet analysis at Kentik
Iran’s Internet Blackout: Peering into The World’s Worst Internet Shutdown
Some are calling it Digital Apartheid. Our latest post uses traffic data to show how expanded whitelisting is reshaping internet access in Iran.
https://www.kentik.com/blog/irans-internet-blackout-peering-into-the-worlds-worst-internet-shutdown/
On Feb-4, Starlink disabled terminals in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine that weren't on Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's approved list.
We saw a 75% drop in Starlink traffic to Ukraine as a result. 🤯
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/25/elon-musk-russian-army-starlink-00793742
Internet shutdown in Iran is in its 46th day.👀
While only a fraction of normal traffic levels, the volume of whitelisted traffic has been slowly growing in the past month as the IR govt expands its program of selectively authorizing access to certain individuals and companies.
BGP routes belonging to the network of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (AS42586) were completely down between ~17:00 UTC on Mar-1 and ~10:00 UTC on Mar-2.
Pings (blue line) was already down due to the shutdown. The BGP outage (green line) might be indicative of technical failure (fiber cut, power outage) or cyberattack.
See @IODA@mastodon.social view:
https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/asn/42586?from=1771874802&until=1772479602&view=view1
Iran is currently enduring its longest-ever internet shutdown, which began shortly after the Feb-28 airstrikes.
My latest post covers all of 2026, outages within the whitelisted traffic, and other observations from our data. #DigitalBlackOutIran
https://www.kentik.com/blog/internet-and-airstrikes-tracking-irans-extended-communication-blackout/
Iran's shutdown is now 15 days and counting. Small amounts of service have been restored in recent days.
#DigitalBlackoutIran #IranRevoIution2026
State telecom TIC (A49666) re-established many of its lost connections with outside providers, such as GBI (AS200612) at 22:02 UTC on Jan-22.
In my latest post for @kentikinc@bird.makeup , I introduce the concept of ephemeral leaks, short-lived routing anomalies that appear briefly during #BGP convergence and fill the output of public leak detection tools like @cloudflareradar@noc.social and its predecessors.
https://www.kentik.com/blog/ephemeral-leaks-and-automated-bgp-route-leak-detection/
A recent target of airstrikes, Sharif University of Technology (AS12660) went offline at 23:12 UTC (2:42am local) today.
@IODA@mastodon.social view:
https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/asn/12660-IR?from=1775395741&until=1775482141
James Cowie on the Geopolitics of Internet Infrastructure
Recently came across this old talk (Nov 2011) at Harvard by @jimcowie@social.secret-wg.org, a mentor of mine and pioneer in exploring the intersection of internet measurement and geopolitics.
Check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx13GO2kJU0
I spoke with AL-Monitor for their story on the ongoing internet shutdown in Iran:
Another internet outage in Iran at 12:00 UTC further reduced the small amount of traffic being let out of the country. #IranUSWar #DigitalBlackOutIran
Numerous networks impacted.
ICYMI: In December, I published a long-form piece based on the firsthand experiences of a Syria Telecom insider during the height of the civil war.
Only after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 did this senior telecom engineer feel safe enough to tell his remarkable story.
Read it here:
https://syriauntold.com/2025/12/27/keeping-syria-connected-during-war/
