Topic: Internet Outage

A major global outage affected Cloudflare and Google Cloud, disrupting a significant portion of the internet's infrastructure. The failure was attributed to a "microservices problem with a macroservices result." Independent broadcasters noted that their self-hosted server networks, managed by specialists like Void Zero, remained operational while mainstream platforms went offline.

Scientists are warning of a potential "solar superstorm" as the sun enters a more active cycle, which could cause widespread internet and power grid outages. Large blobs of plasma from solar flares have the potential to distort Earth's magnetic field and damage satellites. Listeners are jokingly advised to invest in ham radios and Faraday cages to prepare for a "ten days of darkness" scenario.

Rogers Communications CEO Tony Staffieri apologized for a massive 24-hour nationwide internet and cellular outage in Canada caused by a maintenance upgrade. The failure disrupted emergency services, travel, and debit transactions, leading to calls for a public inquiry by the CRTC into the lack of telecommunications competition in the country.

Reports of irregularities in the French election include videos of allegedly tampered ballots for Marine Le Pen. Following the election, France experienced coordinated sabotage of fiber optic cables in multiple locations, causing significant internet outages. The hosts discuss the vulnerability of physical internet infrastructure and the potential motives behind such attacks.

The podcasting industry is analyzed as a potential billion-dollar hardware market, with an estimated 500,000 active podcasts requiring professional consoles and microphones. Separately, a warning is issued regarding potential internet outages caused by upcoming solar storms and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), referencing a 14-day satellite blackout in the late 1990s.

A massive internet outage on July 22, 2021, affected major companies including FedEx, UPS, Airbnb, and Delta Airlines, as well as 911 emergency lines on the East Coast. The disruption is attributed to a failure at Akamai, a major Content Delivery Network (CDN). The incident highlights the vulnerability of the global internet infrastructure when centralized services fail.

A significant internet outage caused by Akamai impacted the Reserve Bank of Australia, major airlines, and several global financial institutions. The disruption forced the cancellation of government bond purchases and grounded flights across multiple carriers. This event underscores the fragility of the modern web, which relies on a few single points of failure like Akamai, Cloudflare, and Fastly.

A major internet outage caused by a "hiccup" at the Fastly Content Delivery Network (CDN) took down high-traffic sites including CNN, HBO Max, and Spotify. CNN's Brian Stelter described the event as a reminder of the internet's vulnerability due to the centralization of cloud services. The hosts emphasize the importance of decentralization, noting that the No Agenda website and social platforms remained online because they do not rely on major CDNs.

The hosts speculate on the social unrest that would occur if the internet were shut down. They discuss the ongoing toilet paper shortage and Costco's new policy refusing returns on paper products to discourage hoarders from seeking refunds after the panic subsides.

A localized power outage in San Francisco's financial district caused issues for residents using "Internet of Things" technology. Dog walkers were unable to enter homes because electronic door codes failed during the blackout. The hosts discuss the dangers of over-reliance on cloud-based services like Slack and Amazon S3 for basic communication and security.

Reports of a total internet outage in North Korea led to speculation about U.S. retaliatory cyber operations. While the State Department refused to confirm or deny involvement, technical analysis reveals that North Korean internet traffic is routed through Loxley Pacific in Thailand, rather than exclusively through China as often reported. The press briefing devolved into a "lover's spat" dynamic between Marie Harf and reporters over the lack of transparency.

Reports from Wired indicate that multiple undersea cables in the Mediterranean have been severed, causing massive internet and phone service disruptions. Countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and India have reported significant packet loss and service outages. The Maldives reportedly lost 100% of its connectivity due to the damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable system.

Adam Curry reports experiencing low-level networking problems and routing issues with Google services. He suspects the issues may be related to Level 3 Communications or Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) errors, noting that certain IP addresses appeared to be used by multiple interfaces.