Future shocks 2023: Collapse of the Internet

European Parliament - EPRS Policy podcasts

European Parliament Webmaster

Government & Organizations, Non-profit

4.8 • 13 Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The internet is a critical technology infrastructure for almost two thirds of the global population. We use the internet for personal, civic, commercial and professional activities. Failure of the internet would majorly impact how our societies, lives and work is organised. While a total global collapse of the internet is unlikely, major disruptions may arise. Three aspects are key in understanding of how this could materialise: the underlying technological infrastructures, which are evolving with time; the fact that tech companies are increasingly shaping the Internet architecture to seek new commercial strategies; and the increasing control of the digital sphere for political reasons.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service Podcasts. In this podcast, we'll talk about a
0:07.9	potential collapse of the internet, one of the 15 risks identified and analyzed by the EPRS in their
0:14.5	Future Shocks 2020 report. Want to know more? Stay with us.
0:27.3	The internet consists of tens of thousands of interconnected networks based on terrestrial infrastructures, intercontinental submarine cables and satellites spanning the world, and run by service
0:33.6	providers, individual companies, universities and governments.
0:38.2	Two-thirds of the world's population. That's over 5 billion people use it in their
0:43.3	personal or professional life. That is, to make bank payments, communicate with colleagues,
0:48.5	buy groceries online, even find a new partner. So, what if it fails? Well, it's something we definitely need to consider.
0:56.2	And while a total collapse is unlikely, major disruptions could occur, and this is how.
1:02.5	The internet is based on the principles of interoperability, interconnection, openness and resilience.
1:09.7	So there are risks and vulnerabilities at different
1:12.7	levels. An internet collapse may come from an unintentional technical failure at network, service or
1:19.4	application level. But it can also come from a cyber attack led by a malicious actor or government,
1:25.6	as we're seeing in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine,
1:28.9	or result from a physical attack damaging telecommunication lines or critical energy infrastructure.
1:34.8	And we shouldn't forget about the risks of espionage and foreign state interference
1:39.5	created by technological dependency on equipment and infrastructures provided by non-European companies and agents.
1:48.0	The vulnerabilities of internet infrastructure increasingly relate to the different ways the technical architecture of the internet evolves.
1:56.0	The global internet is increasingly morphing in different cyberspaces because of technological,
2:02.3	commercial and political factors, and there are growing concerns about potential fragmentation
2:07.3	into a multitude of non-interoperable and disconnected splinternets using different internet standards
2:14.5	and protocols.
	...

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