Iran’s internet blackout extends into second week: NetBlocks

Iran remains under a complete internet blackout, data monitoring site NetBlocks said on Saturday.

“A full week has passed since #Iran was plunged into digital darkness under a regime-imposed national internet blackout,” NetBlocks said in a social media post.

“This measure is in effect at hour 168, isolating the public without major updates and warnings while authorities and state media retain access,” NetBlocks said.

A chart in the post showed Internet traffic at about 1% of its normal level.

US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran continued on Saturday, a week after they launched their joint campaign to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and demand regime change.

Iran has implemented internet shutdowns during periods of social unrest in the past. A similar blackout was imposed for several weeks in January amid widespread protests in the country.

However, some analysts said additional factors could lead to Internet disruption.

“While the exact cause is not yet clear, it is a combination of both state-mandated suppression and external cyber disruption,” Kathryn Raines, cyber threat intelligence team leader at intelligence platform Flashpoint, told CNBC earlier this week.

Iran has not officially commented on the shutdown.

Analysts say the lack of internet connectivity in Iran is likely to add to the fog of war, leaving civilians on the ground unable to communicate with their families, document events or get real-time updates of the conflict.

Cybersecurity firms have warned that Iran is also likely to respond with cyberattacks, carried out directly by the government or affiliated proxy groups.

In a statement shared with CNBC, CrowdStrike’s head of countermeasures operations, Adam Meyers, said the firm is “already seeing consistent activity with Iran-aligned threat actors and hacktivist groups conducting reconnaissance and launching (denial of service) attacks.”

— Dylan Butts contributed to this story.