Cloudflare’s latest Q3 Internet Disruptions report has unveiled a concerning picture of global internet reliability, covering the period from July to September 2025 across 125 countries. The report categorizes various causes for service disruptions, highlighting that despite advancements in networking and cybersecurity measures, the internet remains vulnerable to numerous threats.
Among the predominant causes of outages are government-imposed blackouts, which continue to cause significant disruptions. In countries like Iraq, Syria, and Sudan, online access was intentionally shut down during national examination periods, a recurring practice that authorities have justified as a means to combat exam cheating. This trend aligns with past behaviors where local governments enforced short, repeated internet restrictions.
In Venezuela, a unique situation unfolded when the internet service provider SuperCable was taken offline after losing its license, affecting thousands of users. Such instances, while distinct, reflect a consistent pattern of state-imposed internet limitations that dominate the landscape of global connectivity interruptions.
Cloudflare’s report also sheds light on physical network vulnerabilities caused by a range of accidents and natural disasters. For example, a stray bullet in Texas damaged a fiber line, resulting in a brief outage for Spectrum users. In other regions like the Dominican Republic and Angola, construction activities inadvertently severed key cables, causing significant connectivity issues.
Similar incidents were reported in Pakistan, Haiti, and the United Arab Emirates, where simultaneous cuts to undersea cables halted internet traffic across these nations. These findings underscore the reality that even the most optimized routing and robust firewall management cannot compensate for the weaknesses of physical infrastructure.
Natural disasters have compounded the disruption in internet services. A fire at the Ramses Central Exchange in Egypt disrupted major providers, including Vodafone and Orange. Meanwhile, a substantial 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula had an immediate crippling effect on regional traffic.
Additionally, even sophisticated services like Starlink were not immune, experiencing a global outage on July 24 due to failures in critical software that operates its core network.
These incidents reinforce the notion that while the global network is expansive, it is susceptible to a myriad of threats, from human error to natural calamities. Cloudflare emphasizes that while their summary of disruptions is not comprehensive, the evidence is clear—the fragility of global internet access remains a pressing concern, and maintaining a resilient infrastructure is vital for future connectivity.
In a world increasingly reliant on digital communication, these findings serve as a reminder of the vulnerabilities that persist, and the ongoing need for robust strategies to safeguard internet access against both intentional and inadvertent disruptions.