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The Iranian regime has turned on an internet “kill switch” in an apparent attempt to cover up allegations of abuses by the military and as protests against it have intensified across the country, a cyber security expert has said.
The blackout reduced internet access to a fraction of normal levels on the 13th day of protests as rights groups, including Amnesty International, accused the regime of using lethal force against protesters.
“This is Iran’s war against its own people using digital means,” NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker told Fox News Digital.
“This was a small step that finally brought the whole country together, the government is willing to use this type of measures for a long time,” he said.
“There could be an attempt by the state to cover up a crime that you may have committed, so this erasure could take days or weeks,” Toker added.
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Protesters gather as cars burn, amid anti-government riots, in Tehran, Iran, in this photo taken from a social media video released on Friday. (Media/via Reuters)
About 65 people have been killed in these protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, who said on Friday that the number of dead has doubled since the beginning of the week.
The group also reported that more than 2,300 people have been arrested and that protests have spread to about 180 cities across the country. Most of the dead were protesters, the group said.
“Iranians who dare to express their anger at decades of oppression and demand fundamental change have once again been met with the deadly methods of the security forces who illegally shoot, chase, arrest and beat protesters,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Thursday.
“The single kill switch is a government-controlled test method, so there’s no legal process or way for people to back out,” Toker said.
“We know now that they put all of this in one place to work one step at a time,” he explained, calling it “a way to go very high.”
“It’s been developed since the Cold War, and it means they’re able to triangulate the ground on a satellite transmission. Some governments use this type of kill switch in their cyber operations rooms,” he said.
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“We know that in 2019, for example, it was a critical step where the government had to close businesses one by one, city by city.”
NetBlocks said the current outage is among the worst ever recorded in Iran.
“We are tracking a complete blackout of internet service across Iran right now, and connectivity is below 2% of normal levels,” Toker said.
“This is a nationwide disruption that affects almost every service, every communication and every way of life, that goes beyond cell phones and computers,” he said.
“It’s affecting banks, important services, and there’s very little communication in the country, so people don’t have access to the outside world and nobody has the ability to communicate.”
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Despite the sweeping restrictions, some limited communication channels are always available, Toker said.
“There are few gaps, so it is possible to communicate with those close to the borders with Wi-Fi or mobile service across borders,” he said.
“It’s also occasionally possible to get a part of the service, on a fixed line service, where they can go through all of those, but that’s becoming less common and not an option anymore.
“Another way we have seen is through satellite internet, which is the Starlink network, but the equipment is banned by the Iranian regime.”
“The technology used by the Iranian regime to track links is actually anti-intelligence technology,” he said.
“These measures are often imposed by very authoritarian, very controlling governments that want to silence and oppress their people,” Toker said.
“NetBlocks followed a similar disruption that lasted for many weeks in 2019, when thousands of people were killed, and this also happened in 2022 when people protested the killing of Mahsa Amini.”
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Protests in Iran have intensified in recent days as gunfire rang out in the streets. (National Council of Resistance of Iran)
“In previous incidents, we saw that the government tried to keep the job base in place.
“In this latest case, they pulled the plug, so there’s a huge overestimation going on here, suggesting that the state is afraid and risk-averse when it comes to the possibility of information reaching the outside world.”
President Donald Trump warned Iran’s leaders on Friday against using violence against protesters.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he warned Iran was in “big trouble.”
“I hope the protesters in Iran are safe, because that’s a very dangerous place right now,” Trump said. “You better not start shooting, because we will start shooting again.”
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“The US has promoted democracy in Iran, and that’s a good thing right now,” Toker said.
“There is very little that can be done outside, but it is important to continue to support good efforts.
“A free and open Internet in Iran, and in other countries, can promote democracy and support fundamental freedoms,” he added.
