Forced offline: the Q3 2024 Internet disruption summary

In the third quarter of 2024, there were several notable Internet disruptions around the world. These included a nationwide power outage in Venezuela on August 30, which caused an 82% drop in country-level traffic; a planned exam-related shutdown in Syria on July 30 that lasted for three hours; and a brief disruption in Russia on August 21 due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. In addition, there were significant impacts from Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States, particularly in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.