No Internet, no lockdown: The vulnerability exposed by the Nashville bombing

Lockdowns are only a viable policy because of the availability of the Internet. Without Internet, there are no Zoom calls, no remote working, no connectivity through messaging, and no shopping at Amazon. Lockdowns as a policy cannot be sustained without these functions, and are not profitable for any of the companies that have reaped the benefits of lockdowns over the past year.

It is conceivable, though unlikely, that whoever was responsible for the #Nashville bombing may have opposed lockdowns and identified this crucial necessity for the continuation of these restrictions

This should be much more alarming to the authorities than it appears to be. For, whether or not this proves to have been the terrorist’s motive, attacking Internet providers presents a clear and present danger to the maintenance of the policies most US officials believe are vital to combatting the pandemic; and it may well inspire others whom regard lockdowns as fundamental violations of their freedom.

We do not know yet why this bombing occurred, nor who perpetrated it; but whoever it was, and why ever they did it, they have exposed the most vulnerable linchpin of the lockdown policy, and one can imagine, for instance, Right wing radicals quickly recognizing the effectiveness of attacks on Internet infrastructure for undermining the feasibility of covid lockdown measures.

Quite simply, no Internet, no lockdowns. Yet, strangely, I do not detect a level of official concern commensurate with the threat. People in Tennessee have noted that local media is barely covering news of the bombing and its investigation.

This was the largest terrorist attack in the US in almost two decades. Never mind that there appear to not have been any significant casualties. It was a very deliberate, very well-planned and executed massive bombing in the middle of downtown in a major American city. It disrupted Internet service and telecommunications, not just in Nashville, but reportedly around the country. It almost doesn’t matter whether or not this was the terrorist’s desired result; it was the result, and the vulnerability it revealed is highly dangerous. Whoever can disrupt a system, can control it.

We have spent so much effort trying to safeguard against hacking as our primary concern regarding Internet security, that we have perhaps been negligent about protecting the actual hardware and facilities that make Internet services possible in the first place.

Authorities should recognize that what happened in Nashville can be repeated elsewhere, and that if Right-wing opposition groups understand the vital role the Internet plays in maintaining lockdown measures, attacks like these may indeed be replicated.