Updated
Updated · Help Net Security · Jul 29
Cloudflare Details Q2 2026 Internet Outages After Iran's 88-Day Shutdown and 80% Guam Traffic Drop
Updated
Updated · Help Net Security · Jul 29

Cloudflare Details Q2 2026 Internet Outages After Iran's 88-Day Shutdown and 80% Guam Traffic Drop

3 articles · Updated · Help Net Security · Jul 29

Summary

  • Cloudflare’s Q2 disruption summary said internet outages from April to June 2026 were driven by government shutdowns, damaged infrastructure, cable cuts, storms, earthquakes and power failures.
  • Iran restored nationwide access on May 26 after an 88-day shutdown; traffic reached 40% of pre-shutdown levels the next day, later peaking near 90% before settling around 59%.
  • Government actions also included 10 exam-related shutdowns in Sudan and three in Iraq, while drone-strike damage to AWS facilities in the UAE and Bahrain kept traffic to a UAE cloud region depressed since March.
  • Infrastructure and technical failures caused sharp local disruptions: a DENIC DNSSEC error broke .de lookups for hours on May 5, and a June 21 fiber cut near Saint Lucia pushed Karib Cable traffic close to zero and cut national traffic about 60%.
  • Natural events rounded out the quarter, with Guam traffic dropping as much as 80% during Super Typhoon Sinlaku, Venezuela’s June 24 magnitude-7.5 quake hitting multiple ISPs, and a June 27 Tanzania blackout cutting traffic for at least five hours.

Insights

Why are deliberate government blackouts and extreme weather exposing the shocking fragility of our centralized internet?
Could a single hidden cryptographic error or targeted drone strike permanently force your digital life offline?