Sunday, March 15, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/03/sunday-march-15-2026/

The Guardian: Unexplained Moscow internet blackouts spark fears of web censorship plan. “Muscovites have been turning to walkie-talkies and pagers amid unexplained disruptions to internet services in the capital, as the Kremlin appears to ramp up control over online activity in Russia.”

Scottish broadband users pay most for frequent failures

#BroadbandUK #Scotland #InternetOutages #AusNews

https://thedailyperspective.org/article/2026-03-11-scottish-broadband-users-pay-most-for-frequent-failures-f590a1fc

No internet outages today at all. I did a live chat with Comcast to order a new modem/router; it took about an hour, all in all, while the agent updated the firmware. I had to keep entering something every three minutes to keep the chat from auto-closing. Who the hell made up a stupid mechanism like that? Who thought it was a good idea?

Then we were suddenly disconnected, and there was a new agent in the chat. I had to spend some time with him (her?) as well. But at the end we should have a new modem mailed to us within the next few business days.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: whoever wrote Xfinity/Comcast's script for tech support is INSANE. Once again I got the "I just started my shift today, and I want to put a smile on your face". "I just got married, and I'm so happy". Again with smiley faces and ❤️s. CREEPY!!!

But what I want to know is, if they could end the internet outages with a goddamned firmware update for the modem, why do I have to get a NEW modem? What the fuck is going on?

We're at the mercy of crazy people.

#Internet #InternetOutages #Xfinity #Comcast #Tech #Technology

Record #SolarSuperstorm shrank Earth’s plasma shield 78%, #GPS at risk

Story by Alexander Clark, 12/1/2025

Excerpt: "Why this storm is a warning shot for the #SatelliteEconomy

"Even without a total collapse of the magnetosphere, the recent superstorm delivered a clear warning to the satellite industry. Constellations in low Earth orbit [#LEO], such as #SpaceX’s #Starlink or #OneWeb, already have to contend with atmospheric drag and radiation, but they usually operate well inside the magnetosphere’s protection. When the plasma shield shrinks, those satellites face a double challenge: increased drag from a heated upper atmosphere and a more hostile radiation environment that can degrade electronics and solar panels. The event that compressed Earth’s shield by nearly 80 percent effectively stress-tested the assumptions behind the rapid expansion of commercial space infrastructure, a point underscored in analyses of how a solar storm can threaten satellites when the magnetosphere is squeezed.

"For operators of navigation, communications, and Earth observation satellites in higher orbits, the implications are even more direct. Many of these spacecraft were designed based on historical records of geomagnetic storms that did not include such extreme compression of the magnetosphere, which means their shielding, redundancy, and fault management systems may not fully account for the conditions seen in this event. As I look at the trajectory of the satellite economy, with thousands of new platforms planned for launch in the coming years, the lesson is clear: space weather resilience can no longer be treated as a niche concern. It has to be built into hardware design, constellation architecture, and operational playbooks from the start, or the next superstorm could turn a profitable orbital network into a liability overnight.

"Preparing for the next superstorm in a crowded sky

"The recent compression of Earth’s plasma shield did not trigger the kind of global blackout or navigation collapse that worst-case scenarios envision, but it came close enough to expose the seams in current preparedness. Space weather forecasting has improved, yet the lead times and confidence levels are still limited, especially for the most extreme events. To protect GPS, power grids, and other critical systems, operators need not just alerts that a storm is coming but actionable guidance on how severe the magnetospheric compression is likely to be, which orbits will be most exposed, and how long the elevated risk will last, insights that depend on the kind of multi-satellite observations and modeling showcased in the reconstruction of this storm.

"As I weigh the evidence, the path forward looks less like a single technological fix and more like a layered strategy. That means hardening satellites and ground infrastructure against radiation and induced currents, building redundancy into navigation and timing systems so that GPS is not a single point of failure, and integrating space weather scenarios into everything from grid planning to aviation routing. It also means improving public communication so that when the next superstorm hits, people understand both the seriousness of a 78 percent shrinkage of Earth’s plasma shield and the practical steps being taken to manage the risk. The recent event was a vivid reminder that our digital civilization is built inside a magnetic cocoon that can flex and falter, and that planning for those moments is no longer optional."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/record-superstorm-shrank-earth-s-plasma-shield-78-gps-at-risk/ar-AA1RvRy2?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=692e27870291497eb907556f3dfde189&ei=10

#SolarSuperstorm #SolarFlares #Magnetosphere #MagnetosphericCompression #Satellites #SpaceIndustry #DarkSkies #SpaceJunk #InternetOutages #KesslerSyndrome #CarringtonEvent #SystemVulnerabilities #ConnectedGrids #TechDisruption #DisruptiveTechnology
#Landlines #TechVulnerability

The Register: A single DNS race condition brought Amazon’s cloud empire to its knees. “Amazon has published a detailed postmortem explaining how a critical fault in DynamoDB’s DNS management system cascaded into a day-long outage that disrupted major websites and services across multiple brands – with damage estimates potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/25/the-register-a-single-dns-race-condition-brought-amazons-cloud-empire-to-its-knees/

Northeastern University: What caused Amazon Web Services to go down? A Northeastern expert explains. “A Northeastern University cybersecurity and cloud expert says the outage is emblematic of just how fragile the internet has become in the decades since its founding — particularly in regards to data infrastructure and resilience.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/21/northeastern-university-what-caused-amazon-web-services-to-go-down-a-northeastern-expert-explains/