NetBlocks: Major internet disruption in Chad, severed fibre optic cable supplying Chad from Cameroon

THIS copy of a post at X by NetBlocks date stamped 6:19 PM Feb 12, 2024 says “Confirmed: A major internet disruption had been registered in Chad; real time network data show connectivity falling down to 41% of ordinary levels; The incident is attributed to severed fiber infrastructure supplying Chad from Cameroon #Tchad pic.twitter.com/dsq8ltHBtO” 

⚠️ Confirmed: A major internet disruption had been registered in Chad; real time network data show connectivity falling down to 41% of ordinary levels; The incident is attributed to severed fiber infrastructure supplying Chad from Cameroon #Tchad pic.twitter.com/dsq8ltHBtO

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 12, 2024

END

Sudan's patchy telecoms - Khartoum airport open

Full copy of news report by Radio Dabanga.org

Dated Monday 1 November 2021 

Internet blackout continues, mobile phone service restored in Sudan

(Khartoum) - The week-long internet blackout imposed in Sudan after the military coup last Monday continues, with very little internet traffic possible. Telecommunications services began to be restored after a break that lasted for more than a day during to the October 30 Marches of Millions.

Sources told Radio Dabanga that phone calls continued to be difficult despite the restoration of some services on Sunday afternoon. They also complained about the continuing internet blackout.

The US Embassy in Khartoum confirmed in a report yesterday that the Salanco satellite internet network for Internet & Surveillance is still working, while the Maxnet wireless broadband service provider has been cut.

Khartoum International Airport reopened on Wednesday, and some airlines resumed flights during the weekend.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/internet-blackout-continues-mobile-phone-service-restored-in-sudan

Sudan: Red Crescent prepares for possible election related violence - IFRC disbursed 394,035 Swiss francs from DREF

Sudan: Red Crescent prepares for possible election related violence
From International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
By Anne Wanjiru, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 (via ReliefWeb):

For many Sudanese, taking part in an election was almost like a reverie. Most of them had never been to the polls before. It is a learning experience, even for the leaders vying for electoral seats. The expectations of the 16 million registered voters, neighbouring countries and the international communities are high for Sudan's first multi party elections. If peaceful and successful, these will bring a nation ravaged by a quarter of a century of conflict closer to becoming a democracy.

Preparedness

Tensions, especially in the country's South have been high for months. The Sudanese Red Crescent, together with Movement partners, has been developing and putting into place contingency plans in the event of violence and civil unrest.

With authorities and humanitarian organizations recognizing that the risk for electoral skirmishes between supporters of various political groups was high in 14 states of Sudan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) disbursed 394,035 Swiss francs (366,708 US dollar or 269,170 euro) from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Sudanese Red Crescent's election contingency planning and training scheme.

Close to 40,000 volunteers mainly in the high risk areas such as Jonglei, Blue Nile and Kordofan have received refresher training in emergency first aid as well as offering psychological support. They are on stand by for deployment in the event of civil unrest and election related violence.

Emergency communication equipment

One of the crucial elements of the Red Crescent's plan is having efficient emergency communication equipment installed and functioning. As the leading indigenous emergency response agency throughout Sudan, the Red Crescent has been requested to coordinate communication at national and state levels.

Sudan is the largest country of Africa measuring almost four times the size of France. Sharing of information between the headquarters of the Red Crescent in Khartoum and branches across a surface of more than 2.5 million square kilometres is a challenge but also the key to ensure quick response in case of an emergency.

The IFRC's information systems manager for Eastern Africa, David Kola, was sent to the country to give support in setting up the emergency telecommunications equipment. He visited 13 branches and 3 sub branches in 16 locations in the north. In just three weeks, he covered more than 7,500 kilometres of vast land in the Blue Nile, Dongola, Kadugli, Albara and Port Sudan regions to name just a few.

"In each branch, at least two volunteers were trained on how to handle the telecommunications equipment and will be the focal persons in responding. All emergency centres in the north and south are now running 24 hours a day and are well connected," says Kola.

Little infrastructure

The elections have been extended by another two days to give more time to the voters in the South, most of whom are illiterate and struggling with the complicated voting system that requires them to go through 12 different ballot papers. "The region's infrastructure is almost non-existent, devastated by years of civil war, making the elections process complex to say the least," says Kola.

"Telecommunication equipment was also installed in four branches in south Sudan. Thanks to our contribution, information can be relayed quickly. And, while we hope for the best we're prepared for the worst: any occurrence of violence will trigger an immediate response from trained Red Crescent volunteers," he adds.

Former Clinton and Bush officials war-game cyberattack (originating from the Sudan!)

War game simulates cyberattack



Photo: A mock nat'l security team led by Michael Chertoff wrestles with questions a real-life Cabinet might face. Photo: AP

Former officials war-game cyberattack
From Politico.com by JEN DIMASCIO
Tuesday, 16 February 2010, 5:41 PM EST:

Could a terrorist organization wage a crippling cyberattack that would take down telecommunications networks, disable the Internet and disrupt the nation’s power grid?

Quite possibly, concluded the group of former Clinton and Bush administration officials who engaged Tuesday in a war game designed to simulate how the government would respond to such an attack.

Sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center and held at a Washington hotel, “Cyber Shockwave” was the kind of classified “table top exercise” often used by national security agencies. Its scenario: A cyberattack originating from the Sudan spreads first through an NCAA basketball tournament cell-phone application. The attack spreads virally through the nation’s cell phones, takes out land lines and zaps the Internet.

The mock national security team, led by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, wrestled with the kind of questions a real-life Cabinet might face in such a catastrophe. As the team debated the legal authorities available to the president and what to tell the public, its ability to reach the populace was rapidly diminishing.

More and more telephones and computer networks — including the stock exchange and air traffic controls shut down — and as panelists wondered whether this was indeed an act of war, improvised explosive device attacks took out power grids in the eastern United States.

But the other complicating factor in the computer-based attack was the government’s inability to pinpoint the culprit. Even though the mock defense secretary pledged that U.S. Cyber Command could retaliate, the question remained — against whom? And how, when the government’s response plans are largely defined in the context of Cold War nuclear politics and don’t quite seem to fit this threat.

John Negroponte, the former director of national intelligence who had the role of secretary of state, said the scenario was certainly realistic and that with the information provided during the game, the culprit was not likely to be a nation-state. “I would put my money on a terrorist group,” Negroponte said.

In the role of counselor to the president, Joe Lockhart, White House press secretary in the Clinton administration, urged the panel to get the president to call the incident an act of war, bring congressional leaders to the White House and to act broadly and aggressively to stop the spread of outages.

The way out for the president seemed to be to take control, federalize the National Guard with the help of Congress and to ask for forgiveness of any potential trampling of civil rights later on.

The exercise illuminated some of the problems in dealing with issues of cybersecurity, especially because it’s difficult to get the government to change in the absence of a crisis. Former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, acting as attorney general, pointed out the legal problems with using broad presidential authority to force energy or communications companies to act on the public’s behalf or mobilizing the military to take charge in an epic disaster.

Gorelick said President Barack Obama should be asking Congress now for ways to alleviate the policy problems that tie the government’s hands during crises.

So, who might be planning such an attack, one that the panel agreed was plausible? Possibly criminal networks, and perhaps Al Qaeda.

“We don’t understand their capabilities,” said John McLaughlin, the former acting director of the CIA and DNI-for-a-day. “We just don’t know the extent to which they could do something like this.”

But retired Air Force Gen. Charles Wald, the event’s defense secretary, hedged on the Al Qaeda question. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”