Exam-ining recent Internet shutdowns in Syria, Iraq, and Algeria

This post details the impact of recent internet shutdowns in Syria, Iraq, and Algeria, implemented to prevent exam cheating. It analyzes how Syria uses BGP to effectively shut down internet access by not announcing IP address space, leading to asymmetrical traffic flow. The post also examines the impact on DNS resolution and application traffic, and contrasts Syria's approach with Algeria's content blocking strategy. This contributes to the understanding of how national entities leverage network infrastructure for control and the resulting implications for global internet connectivity.