Will swine flu crash the Internet?

[DainBramaged]

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:


As the spread of the H1N1 flu keeps more Americans away from work and school, a federal report warns that all those people logging on to the Web from home could overwhelm Internet networks.

The Government Accountability Office reported earlier this week that if the flu reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting and children accessing video files and games at home could bog down local networks.

And if that were to happen, it is not clear whether the federal government is prepared to deal with the problem, the GAO said.

The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of communications networks during times of national emergency. But it doesn't have a strategy to deal with overloaded Internet networks -- an essential resource to keep the economy humming, and residents informed and connected during a pandemic, the GAO said. Furthermore, the DHS hasn't coordinated with agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission to create guidelines for how telecom, cable and satellite providers can minimize congestion.

Such confusion "would increase the risk that the federal government will not be able to respond rapidly or effectively if a pandemic quickly emerges," the GAO reported.

Network operators such as Comcast, AT&T, Cox and Verizon are limited in their options. They could add bandwidth capacity and lay down private lines for essential workers, but that is expensive and would take too long. Shutting down certain Web sites or prioritizing traffic could run into technical and regulatory hurdles, the report said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703743.html



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[MichaelHarris]

1. I'm sure

someone, maybe a drug company will make a computer vaccine for it.

[DainBramaged]

3. Given enough time, people will think of the stupidest shit....

I guess the MILLIONS of out of work folks haven't crashed the intertubes yet so if people are home wit the flu it's gonna clog the pipes????

[Oregone]

2. No more than the Paris Hilton sex video did

[tkmorris]

4. I'm not worried

I have EXCELLENT antivirus protection.

[KT2000]

5. Like holidays and weekends

don't have millions of people at home.
Maybe faux news can wind their viewer up into a dither over this to keep them occupied.

[dysfunctional press]

6. i've got avast...

so i'm not concerned.

[marybourg]

7. Uhmmm. Google tonite? nt.

[Chemisse]

8. 20 years ago there was no such thing as the internet

And we were able to exist. If we can't survive a 'net crash then we are pathetic as a species.

[krispos42]

9. Suspend Twitter and Facebook

And hope there's not another Iranian revolution...

[Hannah Bell]

10. everyone's going to die from swine flu, so how will they crash the internet?

jeez, as if there wasn't enough real stuff to worry about.

[DainBramaged]

11. Nope, just like folks here who claim ALL soda has HFCS and the poor should

not be allowed to buy soda with food stamps. Yet their own lives simply suck, so they think up shit like this.


:hi: