Can The Internet Be Shutdown ? Can some one bring the internet down.

[Nameless_ 1]

You can't possibly shut down the entire internet, The internet is nothing but a large collection of much smaller networks.The Domino theory just doesn't apply either.With all of the provisions that could be included, including wireless, a complete
shut down is a ridiculously impossible idea.
It might do us all some good to get a break from it for awhile but that is besides the point.

I must say... it DOES sound pretty ridiculous, but who knows? Anything might happen in this world if you keep yourself open-minded. I mean... if all the computers in the world just suddenly self-destruct, that would count as shutting the internet down, wouldn't it? Especially if no one can access to the internet.

But then, that's very highly unlikely, and near impossible to happen.

[georgebaileyster 0]

To reply to this question needs a little history lesson.The first discussion of a packet based network was in the early 1960's and the physical work began in 1969 with the birth of UNIX. This was ARPANET the US Military network and it was designed to be fully redundant and was using 56k leased lines, so in response to the earlier point that there is always a way back to point B is perfectly correct - providing the building still exists....Even what you call today as Voip was running in toll quality in 1973.That said, as things evolved into the true global network we have today it would theoreticaly be possible to bring it down as every network has its weakest link somewhere but we cannot go into detial here for obvious security reasons. Some RFC's are left unpublished for similar security reasons.The Internet itself is mearly the transport mechanism, the physical infrastrucutre if you like and there are many different networks running across it not http and ftp etc which you will be familiar with.

[Diffusr 0]

To answer the question of whether "the internet" can be completely taken down, first we need to look at what it is and where it came from. The internet is based on a stack of protocols or rules that allow data to be passed from one point to another. These protocols started developing in the 1960's. The US Department of Defense realized that they had a large collection of computers, not all of the same design but all functional in the handling of data. Some of the computers were networked and others were not. There were networks with incompatible protocols.Defense boffins saw an advantage in being able to share the data generated by all these diverse systems and sought to design a way for them to interoperate.Being in the area of defense, they wanted to figure out a way to do it that would minimise the effect of military attack. If such a network were possible, it would become a target for whoever was the enemy.Obviously the only way to ensure continuity of operation after an attack was to decentralise any and all critical services. So a missile could destroy any part of the infrastructure and the network would continue to operate.This network became known as the ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency). The protocol system that ARPAnet ran on was the start of current internet protocols such as TCP/IP.This network was basically nuclear bomb proof.A short time later, this network was linked to research institutions, then universities (first for use only by professors). From there it's not difficult to imagine how we have the internet that exists today.The way the internet was design from the very beginning, as long as we have a communications medium capable of carrying data, digital or analogue, the internet will continue.

[The Simpleton 2]

Hmm I don't think the internet can be shut down in the true sense because somewhere someone will still be running their sites and make it accessible to everyone else. Unless of course some kind of disaster were to happen and all the computers and cables were to disappear, then the internet could be shut down And regarding who owns the internet, the answer is definitely no one. In a way internet is like skynet (from the terminator movies) - it is self-sustaining and no one can really control it. Some countries may take measures to control internet usage in their limits but on the whole no one can really claim to own the internet.

[dolrich06 0]

This could be done using "DOS" or "denial of service" at the root DNS servers of the world. There are lots restrictions, but its theoretically possible.