Latest news with #Kentinc
India Today
18-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Iran shuts down most of the internet as tensions with Israel escalate, WhatsApp and Instagram reportedly blocked
Iran faced a nation-wide 'near-total' internet blackout on Tuesday limiting Iranians' ability to communicate with the outside world at a time of escalating tensions with Israel. Media reports suggest the blackout was a deliberate decision from the government's side specifically in response to alleged Israeli cyberattacks. It wasn't the aftermath of Israeli bombing destroying state infrastructure. VPN services were particularly impacted so there is possibility that the government wanted to crackdown and limit the potential spread of misinformation as well, which is often the case in times like these. According to an NBC News report, citing Kentinc and Netblocks, companies that track internet connectivity around the world, Iran suffered from an internet slowdown at about 5:30 PM local time. It wasn't a total blackout which is to say that not everything was shut down. Alongside limiting people's access to VPN services that would allow them to connect to foreign websites, the government also reportedly urged Iranians to avoid using chat apps like WhatsApp over concerns that they might be leaking – or could leak – their personal information at a time of great turmoil. This is not the first time the Iranian government has shut down the internet or kept its people from accessing internet services. In 2019, it forced a complete blackout for six days straight, in the wake of civil unrest within the country which reportedly led to the deaths of more than 100 people. More than 220 people have died after Israeli strikes, according to Iran while Israel says, retaliatory attacks have killed 24 at the very least. Iran has also blocked the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in its most recent shut down preventing its people from downloading and installing new apps on their devices. At the same time, apps like WhatsApp and Instagram have been rendered completely useless on existing devices. Government-approved sites that are part of Iran's National Information Network remain accessible though. advertisement
Engadget
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Engadget
Iran restricts internet access to ward off Israeli cyberattacks
People in Iran have been having difficulties accessing internet services, mostly foreign websites and messaging apps like WhatsApp. According to The New York Times and NBC News , it was the government's decision to restrict internet in the country to ward off cyberattacks by Israel as the conflict between the countries escalate. Fatemeh Mohajerani, Iran's spokesperson, said the government was forced to throttle internet speeds in the country to maintain network stability "given the enemy's cyber attacks." Iran reportedly plans to reduce its internet bandwidth by 80 percent. Kentinc and Netblocks, companies which track global internet connectivity, told NBC News that Iran's connection plummeted at around 5:30PM Eastern time on June 17. Iranians have been having issues accessing online services for days, however, with their mobile data networks being completely down in parts of the country and the VPNs they were using to access foreign websites being blocked intermittently. In addition to blocking WhatsApp, the Iranian government urged citizens to delete it from their smartphones, accusing it of collecting information to send to Israel. WhatsApp told AP that it was "concerned these false reports will be an excuse for [its] services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most." While Iran's spokesperson said that the government is blocking and slowing down the country's internet connection as a way to prevent Israeli cyberattacks, it's also making it harder for people to get warnings about incoming attacks and to contact loved ones in cases of emergency. And since maps like Google's also aren't working, people trying to evacuate are also reportedly getting lost. Iran is urging its citizens to use its national internet services or N.I.N., which remain available and allow messaging using government platforms, but people don't think they're secure. It's worth noting that Iran also seems to have launched its own cyber attacks on Israel. As The Verge notes, cybersecurity firm Radware reported a surge in cyberattacks on Israel since its strike on Iran. The firm believes they were carried out by Iranian state actors and pro-Iran hacker groups. Iran had been linked to several cyberattacks in the past, including an instance wherein hackers associated with the country stole US voter information and sent intimidating emails to Democrat voters.
NBC News
17-06-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Iran plunged into a near-internet blackout during deepening conflict
Iran plunged into a near-total internet blackout on Tuesday as Israel continued to bombard the country. Two companies that track global internet connectivity, Kentinc and Netblocks, told NBC News that Iran's internet connectivity plummeted around 5:30 p.m. local time, limiting Iranians' ability to access and share information with the outside world as the country becomes more deeply involved in conflict. The drop appears to be a result of a decision by Iran's government, rather than due to Israeli strikes on infrastructure. Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokesperson for Iran's government, said it had restricted internet access in response to Israeli cyberattacks. Iran's government has historically shut down or reduced its internet connectivity with the outside world in times of civil unrest. Most recently, in 2019, it implemented a six-day full blackout as protesters took to the streets across the country and the government issued a crackdown on civilians, leading to more than 100 people reportedly killed. The country's internet access has been reduced, but not fully blocked, in the aftermath of Israel's strikes on Iran last week, which Iran has said killed at least 224 people. Israel said that Iran's retaliatory attacks have killed at least 24. The internet slowdowns appeared to particularly affect services like VPNs used to access foreign sites. Amir Rashidi, the director of digital rights and security at the Miaan Group, a nonprofit that advocates for human rights in Iran, told NBC News that some Western apps for communicating, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, had been blocked in the country. A WhatsApp spokesperson told NBC News that its parent company, Meta, has been engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Iran, which has been blocking internet providers used by the company. Iran's National Information Network, a nationwide network of government-approved sites that are not connected to the outside world, has largely remained accessible to people in Iran. Data published Tuesday by internet services company Cloudflare found that two major Iranian mobile network providers were effectively disconnected. As internet services have been reduced in the country, some online have called for Elon Musk's satellite internet service provider Starlink to step in. In an X post on June 13, Musk wrote, 'The beams are on' in response to a call for Starlink access for Iranians. Iran has formally banned Starlink satellite internet terminals, and the country's Saed News agency has warned that the use of Starlink in the country could be used to help direct Israeli attacks. While Starlink does not formally have an option to operate within Iran's borders, it does offer users a Global Roam option, marketed for international travel. Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, did not respond to a request for comment. But a spokesperson for Holistic Resilience, a nonprofit that advocates for information access in closed societies, said that the organization estimates there are between 30,000 and 40,000 Starlink terminals spread across Iran, based on network scans and conversations with people involved in selling them to people in the country. Meanwhile, Iran's National Cybersecurity Command announced that Israel had launched a broad cyberwarfare campaign against Iran's digital infrastructure in order to disrupt services to the public, but did not provide specifics of what was affected. Iranian news site Shargh Daily reported that Iran's cyber police agency, FATA, said Tuesday that the Iranian government had imposed some internet disruptions after the cyberattacks, and that service would be restored soon. That statement came after a prominent pro-Israel hacker group that calls itself Predatory Sparrow claimed on X and Telegram, where it maintains a social media presence, to have conducted a destructive cyberattack against Bank Sepah, a national bank under U.S. sanctions for alleged ties to Iran's military. Some Iranian ATMs were not functional Tuesday, a source on the ground told NBC News. The members of Predatory Sparrow are unknown and the group did not respond to a request for comment. It was not possible to determine if the group is affiliated with any Israeli military or intelligence agency.
