Who guards the Internet: is it possible to turn off the Network all over the world at the same time?

The Internet has long become something integral in the life of a modern person. It's hard to imagine that at some point he will simply be gone.

At the same time, you need to understand that the Global Network is not limited to sites from the search engine, social media and funny videos. In addition to the public Internet, there is also the so-called deep Internet, which cannot be accessed from the browser. This segment of the Network is much larger than the one we use every day, and it stores much more valuable information, ranging from medical records to secret intelligence documents.



Finally, there is a segment of the Internet for criminals – DarkNet. Terrible things happen there, so it’s better not to go there. However, fortunately, you cannot get into the “darknet”, as well as into the “deep” Internet, from a regular browser.

In general, today we can say with confidence that the world in which we live will no longer be able to fully exist without the Internet. But is it possible that the “good of civilization” will disappear in one moment? Is it possible to turn off the Internet for the entire planet at the same time?

It’s worth noting right away that this is difficult to pull off today even for one country. In 2011, there was a case when, due to damage to the fiber optic line, parts of Georgia and Armenia were simultaneously deprived of access to the Network. But this is only a special and very rare case.

Today, this is completely unlikely, since, in addition to terrestrial and submarine lines, there is satellite communication. In particular, Elon Musk's Starlink. Yes, such Internet is much more expensive than cable Internet, but it can provide access to the Internet to even the most isolated regions of the planet, as well as provide insurance in case of damage to the fiber optic backbone.

By the way, about the latter. These lines represent a vast Network. Therefore, it will not be possible to cut them off in one place and deprive all the inhabitants of the planet of access to the Internet.

Regarding attempts to destroy all information accumulated on the Internet, such a scenario is also unrealistic. The latter is stored on servers located in 7,5 thousand data centers scattered throughout the planet. The record holder with more than 2,7 thousand such storage facilities is the United States. At the same time, the largest data center is located in China.

Today we can confidently say that it is almost impossible to turn off the Internet for the entire world or even a single country. However, the authorities of some states can partially restrict access for citizens by blocking some “unfriendly” services in their segment, as China did.

Finally, the question remains open: what if someone tries to destroy the Global Network by launching a “terrible virus” into it, or will a catastrophe occur that will cause serious damage to it? In this case, a reboot will be performed, which will bring it back to life again.

This procedure can be performed by seven people, the so-called key custodians. Since 2010, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has been holding a unique ceremony to gather the aforementioned “guardians” and generate new smart cars for them, allowing them to restart the Network in the event of critical damage.

These seven people are selected from different countries. They are appointed based on work experience and geographic location.

In the event of a disaster or other incident that threatens the Global Network, these people will combine their smart keys and restart the system.



* – the video mentions certain services of the extremist company Meta, recognized in Russia.