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As Almaty, largest city in Kazakhstanplunged into chaos over the past month rising energy costs and country leaders outraged at the government took a drastic step to quell the protests: they blocked the internet.

They first tried to block access to certain news sites, social networks and messaging services. Then, as activists bypassed those sidewalks with software that disguises their location, authorities shut down nearly all connections in the country.

The moves added uncertainty to an already dire situation. Long queues formed at ATMs as Kazakhs scurried to get cash, following the shutdown of payment apps and point-of-sale machines used to swipe debit cards. Families could not communicate with their loved ones. Taxi drivers who rely on ridesharing apps said they stopped driving because they couldn’t connect with passengers.

“It was impossible to communicate,” said Darkhan Sharipov, a 32-year-old accountant who participated in the protests. “The lack of information has multiplied the chaos and disinformation.”

Scenes in Kazakhstan offer a preview of what might happen in the future. UkraineWhere the Internet could be one of the first targets of the Russian military in a possible conflict. Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that cyberattacks could be part of any Russian attack.

This week, the Ukrainian government said the websites of two banks, the Ministry of Defense and its armed forces were briefly taken offline in a series of denial-of-service attacks that flooded a network with massive amounts of traffic. attacks largest in the country’s historyUkrainian officials said it “bears traces of foreign intelligence services”.

On Thursday, internet service outages were recorded on some mobile networks in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

“In the event of a real military conflict, it is the internet infrastructure that will be destroyed in the first place,” said Mikhail Klimarev, Russian telecommunications expert and managing director of the Internet Protection Association, an anti-internet civil society group. censor. “In Kazakhstan, the internet was shut down by order of the authorities,” he said. “We fear the bombing out of the internet in Ukraine.”

Control of the Internet is increasingly becoming part of any modern conflict. Recognizing that the Web is vital for communication, economics and propaganda, officials used closures Similar to holding energy sources, water, or supply lines hostage to suppress opposition and conserve power.

According to the latest annual report from Access Now, an international non-profit group that monitors these events, there were at least 155 internet outages in 29 countries in 2020. At least 50 shutdowns were documented in 21 countries between January and May 2021.

That includes Yemen, where Saudi-led forces have targeted the country’s telecom and internet infrastructure in the ongoing war there, according to Access Now. In November, Sudanese leaders shut down the internet for nearly a month in response to the protests. In Burkina Faso, the government ordered telecom companies to shut down mobile internet networks for more than a week in November, citing national security concerns.

“The only way to be absolutely sure that no one is online is to unplug everything,” said Doug Madory, director of internet analytics at Kentik, a telecom services company.

Any internet outage in Ukraine must be done by an outside power, unlike in Kazakhstan, where the government uses national security laws to force companies to cut connections.

It would be cumbersome to completely eliminate the Ukrainian internet. There are more than 2,000 internet service providers in the country, and all of them would have to be blocked for them to shut down completely.

Max Tulyev, owner of NetAssist, a small internet service provider in Ukraine, said his company is making preparations. NetAssist established connections to other internet network operators to ensure continued service during a conflict and sought to route connections around common locations that could be attractive military targets. He also set up a backup network center and purchased satellite phones so employees could keep in touch when networks went down.

“As Ukraine is well integrated into the internet with many different physical and logical connections, it will be very difficult to disconnect completely,” said Mr. Tulyev, board member of the Ukrainian Internet Association.

Still, many expect targeted power outages if there is a war, especially in the border areas of Russia and Ukraine. Cyber ​​attacks or a military attack can disconnect.

as Thursday evening the fight flared up In eastern Ukraine, near the front line with Russia-backed separatists, cell phone service was cut off, which officials said was “targeted sabotage.” It was restored on Friday morning.

“Sabotage of communication facilities will continue,” said Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. “This is all part of Russia’s plan to destabilize the situation in Ukraine.”

In many countries it is not technically difficult to completely turn off the Internet. Regulators issue an order telling telecom companies to shut down access or risk losing their licenses.

The events of the past month in Kazakhstan show how shutting down the internet can worsen an already chaotic situation. The technical roots of the shutdown go back to at least 2015 in the country. imitate your neighborsChina and Russia have been practicing internet censorship for years. Authorities in these countries devised methods to spy on communications and set up armies of hackers and trolls that could target rivals.

Last year, Russia slowed Twitter traffic during protests over opposition leader Alexei Navalny, this delay continued. China has set up a police force to arrest those who speak out online, and has ordered thousands of volunteers to write positive reviews in support of government initiatives.

According to civil society groups and activists, Kazakhstani authorities have sought to develop similar technical tools for surveillance and censorship, without breaking the key links necessary for its economy to function.

Last month, Kazakhstan plunged into turmoil as anger over rising fuel prices turned into broad demonstrations. Russian-led military intervention. When the government collapsed, the protests turned violent. Dozens of anti-government demonstrators were killed and hundreds more injured.

To prevent protesters from communicating and sharing information, Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has turned to a similar politics of digital scorched earth. one in Myanmar took the entire internet offline last year. In Myanmar, the military staged a coup and soldiers took over the country’s data centers operated by telecom companies.

The lack of internet in Myanmar and Kazakhstan has added to the confusion. Mr. Klimarev said that in the event of a conflict in Ukraine, this additional confusion would be part of the issue.

“Destroy your enemy’s internet, it will be messy,” he said. “Banks, supply systems and logistics, transport and navigation will stop working.”

Arsen Aubakirov, a digital rights expert in Kazakhstan, said that the internet blackouts in Kazakhstan started around January 2 and lasted until January 10. At first, it was limited to certain communications and targeted areas where there were protests, he said.

By January 5, internet watchers said the country was almost completely offline, battering the country’s economy. major cryptocurrency transactions.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aviation Industry has ordered telecom operators to block access, citing a law that allows the government to suspend networks and communications services in the name of “fighting terrorism and ensuring public safety.”

While activists find some ways to overcome the blocksMr. Sharipov, who was detained by the authorities for the protest, said the lack of internet meant that many demonstrators did not know that the government was imposing new curfews, leading to violent clashes with police. With the internet down, state media labeled the demonstrators as “terrorists” and drug users.

“This is another example of a country in turmoil choosing to shut down the internet for several hours to deprive it of public or international scrutiny,” said Mr Madory.