Will Internet Shutdown Over The Next 48 Hours?

Reports on Friday morning suggested that Internet users globally may have to face downtimes as two key domain servers are expected to undergo routine maintenance service in order to counter rising incidents of cyber attacks in the next 48 hours.

The report, originally published in Russia Today, said The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will carry out maintenance work that would involve changing cryptographic keys that help protect the Domain Name System (DNS).

However, the report has now been refuted by Indian authorities. Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator told NDTV that all the arrangements have been made and there will be no Internet shut down in India.

The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) had said, “To further clarify, some Internet users might be affected if their network operators or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not prepared for this change. However, this impact can be avoided by enabling the appropriate system security extensions.”

An ICANN spokesperson has also refuted the news stating that the headline used in the report was ‘click bait’. “There will be minimal impact to users. Note that data analysis suggests that more than 99% of users whose resolvers are validating will be unaffected,” he told NDTV.

He also said that it has been 20 hours since the rollout and so far, there have only been a ‘small handful’ of issues.