Europe braces for mobile network blackouts • Hacker News Board

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#211

Post by DoingIsLearning » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:44 PM UTC

Vodafone Portugal suffered an extremely successful cyber attack in February 2022, taking down:

- 4G

- 5G

- Fixed voice

- Digital TV

- SMS

- voice

It took _several_ days to bring everything back online. [0]

No Ransomware requests issued, most likely a state actor.

Many people speculate the attack was a training ground for Russian cyberwarfare.

I find this a much more likely failure mode for communications (including emergency services) than network operators not managing uptime because of blackouts.

[0] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/02/vodaf...

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#212

Post by james_pm » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

scifibestfi wrote: post #168

mrtksn wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should check out how much power the Starlink base station requires. It's one of its main issues.

You just need a phone and network that uses it. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-cove...

And a few years until it actually exists.

"starting with a beta in select areas by the end of next year after SpaceX’s planned satellite launches". On Elon time, that's 2025 and perhaps never.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#213

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

nosianu wrote: post #199

yrgulation wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating how a large portion of germans were enamoured with a murderous corrupt dictator yet they speak with disgust about peaceful east european allies and look down on them and sanction their economies at first signs of dissent. Truly one for science books. Is it because of the age old “dream” of sharing east europe with russia? If so, east europe shouldnt sit idle. It should respond in kin.

> they speak with disgust about peaceful east european allies and look down on them and sanction their economies at first signs of dissent Wow this is such a bad comment. I will even be so bold and call it outright lies. You seem to be talking about Hungary. A country that I actually really like, I was there in my (East German) youth three times, once on vacation with my parents, twice in youth camps, an East German…

[deleted]

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#214

Post by potatototoo99 » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:56 PM UTC

scifibestfi wrote: post #61

"Russia's decision to halt gas supplies via Europe's key supply route in the wake of the Ukraine conflict has increased the chances of power shortages." Europe's decision, Germany especially, to be reliant on Russia for energy when they could have not shut down nuclear plants and built more.

It was Europe's decision to halt gas imports, not Russia's.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#215

Post by MichaelCollins » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

tomp wrote: post #156

nosianu wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Question: could Russian disinformation have played a role in germanys policy here? As a German, no, that was quite voluntary. People like me completely agreed. I only woke up on 24 February. I'm from East Germany, speak some Russian, and have been to Russia a few times, and to Ukraine too, for months actually. I did not care about the Krim annexation either. I think because it was peaceful, and because I did not se…

Ok so you explained your love affair with Russia. Thank you for that, very insightful and courageous. But why the hate of nuclear? Was there a lot of propaganda in the media how dangerous it is? I really don’t understand it. It gives clean energy independence almost for free!

Germans particularly have a lot of good reason to dislike nuclear weapons. If the Soviet Union had ever sent tanks through the Fulda Gap, NATO would have dropped a lot of tactical nukes on Germany to stop it. They had plans for it all drawn up, weapon systems invented specifically for this, etc. NATO and the Soviets were both planning to actually continue fighting through a nuclear war. Those in power viewed a nuclear WW3 as a salvageable situation from which one side might emerge victorious, not the utter end of the world. Germans who called the planned nuclear battlefield their home obviously weren't enamored with this idea.

But I think Cold War era anti-nuclear activists exploited this rational fear of nuclear weapons to vilify nuclear power as well, to weaken the capitalist West which they almost universally opposed.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#216

Post by megous » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 5:58 PM UTC

neodypsis wrote: post #209

MichaelCollins wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The solution is not obvious, The problem of relying on Russia for energy was obvious. There isn't a singular "the solution" because there were many possible solutions, nuclear energy being just one. In addition to investing in wind/solar, there are other solutions besides nuclear. Particularly, fracing and coal mining. Both of these are unpopular for obvious reasons (which is the reason everybody talks about nuclea…

> The problem of relying on Russia for energy was obvious. Indeed. Always found it strange that Germany didn't see a problem with relying on Russia for their main energy source.

Germans would have happily helped train Russian military if 2014 did not happen. Money's good.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#217

Post by DocTomoe » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

f1shy wrote: post #175

tomp wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So nuclear (zero CO2 emissions) isn’t “green” but gas (CO2 + methane emissions) is?! This is the reality of institutional stupidity at the highest EU political levels.

Believe it or not, the green party is one of the most hard opponents to nuclear. Of course, they suggest the alternative Wind+Solar, not gas.

In fact, in the 1970s, the German Green Party proposed replacing nuclear with more coal power plants.

They were anti-nuclear first, the whole CO2 thing only ever started to get traction with them when they won their first Atomausstieg and needed a new topic to terrorise children into next-generation voters with.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#218

Post by megous » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #181

ch4s3 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also proactively chose in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq to avoid importing more natural from the US. Schroeder and co wanted to reconnect Western Europe to Russia and avoid any dependence on the U.S. I think we now all see who the more reliable partner for Western Europe has been. [edit] if you’re going to disagree, I’d be interested to hear your specific objections. The shift away from US natural gas is…

The difference is that when the US invaded Iraq, Germany complained a bit but didn't do much else, but when Russia invaded the Ukraine, Germany decided to cut Russia off economically. The reason why the US is a "reliable partner" is that German politics is willing to accept American wars. And before we hear any cries of, "Iraq was different," recall that it was an illegal war of aggression that caused the deaths of h…

> but when Russia invaded the Ukraine, Germany decided to cut Russia off economically.

Yeah, 8 years after invasion, maybe.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#219

Post by dsr_ » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

systemvoltage wrote: post #183

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this part of living in the future was predicted on The Jetsons

Oh my, I didn't realize The Jetsons aired in 1962: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jetsons Thats 60 years ago. Wow.

George Jetson's birthdate is arguably this year.

Re: Europe braces for mobile network blackouts

#220

Post by jhoechtl » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:04 PM UTC

scifibestfi wrote: post #149

mrtksn wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This place started to think in memes I feel. Every issue comes with the automated arguments, the same ones every time. If the topic is energy someone must write the "they shouldn't have closed those Nuclear power plants, silly environmentalist". Anyway, France is full blown nuclear state and they are having energy issues too, because as it turns out nuclear power plants require long regular maintenance periods. Maybe…

The people are fed up with dangerously incompetent leadership, who literally laughed when warned to not be dependent on Russia for energy. It's not a meaningless culture war. The loss of energy means lower standard of living at best and mass death and famine at worst.

> The people are fed up with dangerously incompetent leadership

When thinking of politicians, Intelligence is not an attribute which comes naturally to my mind.

Yet the absence of intelligence in karge swaths of green politicians is striking. Im specifically talking about the German green movement, not generalising.