Iran in 'Digital Blackout' as Tehran Throttles Mobile Internet Access (thenationalnews.com)
- Reference: 0180549631
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/01/08/1929218/iran-in-digital-blackout-as-tehran-throttles-mobile-internet-access
- Source link: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/01/08/iran-internet-blocked-ipv6/
> Internet access available through mobile devices in Iran [1]appears to be limited , according to several social media accounts that routinely track such developments. Cloudflare Radar, which monitors internet traffic on behalf of the internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare, said on Thursday that IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), a standard widely used for mobile infrastructure, was affected.
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> "IPv6 address space in Iran dropped by 98.5 per cent, concurrent with IPv6 traffic share dropping from 12 per cent to 1.8 per cent, as the government selectively blocks internet access amid protests," read Cloudflare Radar's social post. NetBlocks, which tracks internet access and digital rights around the world, also confirmed it was seeing problems with connectivity through various internet providers in Iran. "Live network data show Tehran and other parts of Iran are now entering a digital blackout," NetBlocks posted on X.
[1] https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/01/08/iran-internet-blocked-ipv6/
For those who don't know (Score:2)
This is actually Egypt's original tactic, that Russians learned and then passed on to the Iranians.
The idea is that you have kill switches on national edge routers. And you don't touch them until your domestic security people are ready to go.
Then you hit the kill switch, disrupting communications. It takes a while for protesters to reorganize to P2P and while that is ongoing, there's no command and control. So your domestic security people get to just cleave their way through disorganized masses for quite a
Re: (Score:2)
I have been following their news closely, from Iranian expats. Today was the day of a national strike, called by the Kurds, Balochis and Reza Pahlavi. In several cities nationwide, there have been IRGC/Basij defections, since they have been badly outnumbered. If they were going to switch sides, it's surprising that they would have turned on the kill switches to all the national edge routers
In past uprisings, they were supported by foreign militias, particularly Hizbullah fighters. In fact, there were
TOI (Score:3)
A Times of Israel article here:
[1]https://www.timesofisrael.com/... [timesofisrael.com]
It is better than the rumours i gather left and right.
[1] https://www.timesofisrael.com/internet-phone-lines-cut-across-iran-as-thousands-rally-in-tehran-death-toll-at-45/
You can listen to the locals (Score:2)
Times of Israel? These days, w/ social media and the web, I directly access any country's media for news about it, rather than listen to foreign know-it-alls like BBC, CNN, Fox, et al. Right now, for Iran, I'm checking out [1]Iran International [slashdot.org], which has a pretty full coverage of everything going on there. That, and a few YouTube channels of Iranian expats
[1] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/01/08/1929218/iranintl.com/en
Censorship: A Novel IPv6 Usecase!! (Score:2)
Want to block protesters easily? Just kill IPv6!!!
No one's affected except cell phone users.
IPv6 censorship a lot more difficult (Score:2)
Looking at an IPv6 adaption map, Iran's IPv6 adaption is 15% - pretty low. In fact, if Iranians want to get around the blackout , IPv6 is a good way to do it. As it is, the few Iranians who do have Starlink access probably are IPv6-only. What has been shut down has been their cellular networks: I'm not sure what sort of terrestrial internet Iran has
One thing the islamic regime can do as a last act, maybe as a part of this internet shutdown, would be to release all their routable IPv4 addresses to RIPE.
How are they.... (Score:2)
How do they pull this off, when they've pretty much lost control of most cities in the country? I have ben following Iranian channels, like [1]Iran International [slashdot.org], and some YouTube channels hosted by Iranian expats. From all the reports, the IRGC is either in the retreat, or in some cities, has changed sides.
In which case, how are Iran's telecom operators determining who to obey, as opposed to going w/ the flow and just not touching anything, letting everything run on autopilot, until things break? After a
[1] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/01/08/1929218/iranintl.com/en
Fuck this (Score:5, Interesting)
They need to drag out all the mullahs, lunatics, rabid dog clerics, and schutzstaffel types that have been running the place! No appeasement bullshit. The regime murdered people youth in their teens and early 20s for the most trivial things. They showed no regard for human life, why should anyone have regard for theirs?
If the theocrats are coddled they will keep trying to come back.That place needs an Ataturk times 10, PLUS French revolution/First Republic level score settling. I'm talking about a complete dismantling of the bubonic theocratic cancer plague.
And btw, they shouldn't get the so called Shah's son .. or "crown prince" back. He's the definition of a soft-ass pansy. He'll be milquetoast and set it up such that the theorcracy can agitate and con it's way back into powe within a few years.
Re: (Score:3)
"He'll be milquetoast and set it up such that the theorcracy can agitate and con it's way back into powe within a few years."
Is he milquetoast or can he set it up so the theocracy can come back? Seem like mutually contradictory things.
Anyway, the Iranians want the Shah. There is no organized internal opposition force, he's moderately well-respected, he hates the theocracy (so why would he reinstate it?), and he's pledged supporting democracy.
Re: (Score:2)
Sadly, "they" are the mullahs, lunatics, rabid dog clerics, and schutzstaffel.