Kenneth Ndirangu wrote:
Take down the 10 largest internet exchange points. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_Exchange_Points_by_size BGP would go crazy on most routers, most major web/content hosting datacenters would be unreachable, effectively the Internet would be either completely down or very slow.
Not entirely true :( how do you define taking down the 10? - For a start you need to understand that would esssentially mean taking down entire cities since the peering points for LINX, AMSIX and DEC-IX are spread across the cities. Also Netnode is a government facility - no one knows where it is cept for a few folks who run it. By taking this 10 out, it means all traffic will go via transit links to reach other networks most of which are large enough pipes and not fully utilized. finally, most CDNs have edge caching at most of the smaller IXPs hence that will still continue.
Bring down major satellite teleports (which would have been used as backups). That and a few well placed fiber cuts would do wonders. There is a study done on the effect of fiber cuts around Egypt early last year. http://www.apnic.net/meetings/25/program/apops1/earl-fiber-cut-analysis.pdf. You can go further and target terrestrial links in Europe and US. A few days ago AT&T suffered sabotage in some city that affected thousands.. http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/04/09/fiber-cuts-slash-silicon-valleys-...
This will definitely create an interesting mix if you managed the above. Teleports will definitely leave Africa in the dark for it were. Fiber cuts have had their impacts.
Pockets of the internet might still function but it would no longer be the Internet.
All the above plus a sustained DDoS attack on all Root and TLD Name Servers would down the net. I agree, but all this is purely theoretical - in practice it means you must be one large organization with alot of resources and social engineering to pull this one through. It sort of reminds me of the Bruce Wills movie die hard 4?. Only in the movies. Regards, Mich.