Internet Lifeline amid the World Trade Centre

Originally designed to survive a nuclear holocaust, overall it seems the Internet did its job relatively well throughout the tragic terrorist attacks on America’s World Trade Centre.

Unable to connect via mobile and landline phones, many people around the globe turned to the Internet to communicate with their families, friends and colleagues to grasp the awful sequence of terrorist attacks that transformed the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon into disaster zones.

The Web quickly also became a place to check on or report the status of friends and family. They posted messages on Web sites, signed on to instant chat services, used e-mail and other Internet services to contact people, swapping notes and seeking support online.

However, Internet traffic did slow and major news Web sites jammed as people searched for details on the attacks. The shattered twin Trade towers housed equipment and antennas that transmitted millions of telephone calls each day. The damage and an unparalleled volume of calls besieged an already stressed telecommunications system wrecking much of the New York City's phone systems capacity.

Internet Service Weak spots

Nonetheless Cyberspace was indeed rocked by the terrorist attacks, with repercussions that rippled through communications systems, chat rooms, and IT companies. The largest Internet service providers did report some service outages at the very earliest stages.

Large news sites were the most severely impacted early on, so much so that only one out of ten visitors could connect to their services. Load times spiked from three seconds to 27 seconds, which is often greater than most browsers will tolerate without timing out. Many sites experienced increases in demand of over one thousand percent. Verizon’s West Street facility, containing call-processing computer serving 200,000 access lines and the equivalent of three million data circuits was damaged in the attack.

Sites Strip for Speed

Although Web sites like MSNBC.com, CNN.com and CBSNews.com initially began their coverage by offering big graphics, live audio, and video, their staff were soon rushing to replace them with text only sites and distribute server loads in an effort to make information as accessible as possible.

Most of the busy sites reacted by temporarily redesigning their home pages for fast loading. They stripped all frames and superfluous sections and graphic images. Much of their pages were blank space, so as not to delay load times.

By stripping advertising and reducing graphics from their sites alone allowed for a tremendous increase in traffic. This may confirm some critic’s views that much of the Internet content is no longer "relevant"

Web Sites

Web communities popped up all over the Internet to let people comfort one another and get information. They very quickly became the human face of the Internet. People at Yahoo Groups created a public discussion group to share information on the attacks. Craig's List, an international community listing of jobs and related information, created an open forum on the disaster.

Support sites appeared in large and small organisations alike. One site, the New York City Bombing Check-In Site offered an online place for people to notify their friends and family of their situation, and for others to check for information. It also links to a number of other similar sites.

Businesses located in and around the World Trade Centre also used Web sites on the Internet to provide updates on the status of their operations. The American Red Cross used the Internet to reach out for help, asking technology companies to donate Web advertising space to urge people to donate blood. Morgan Stanley, a severely hit company headquartered in the World Trade Centre, also posted a notice on its site about the collapse.

E-mail

It seems however, that Internet e-mail turned out to be the communication tool of choice for most. Those seeking information ended up communicating mostly by e-mail and instant messaging applications. Others did their bit by sending out e-mail updates and discussing the catastrophe via e-mail discussion lists (Mail Lists), and even through wireless (SMS) discussion groups.

Some news organisations trying to disseminate information via the Internet turned to e-mail, which seemed to be functioning normally. The New York Times' site sent out e-mail alerts to subscribers of its "direct" service, updating them with developments and linking to its site.

Search Engines

Most people turned immediately to the search engines on the Internet only to be disappointed because there was no information to be found. Unless you use a special kind of search engine, it may take days, weeks or even months before a site is "crawled by the search engine and the information listed or indexed.

Search engine Google did save and "cached" copies of popular news sites like CNN.com and NYTimes.com for Internet users who couldn't access them because of Internet traffic congestion. Google also directed news seekers to radio and television instead in the very early stages because of extremely high demand.

Usenet Newsgroups and Mailing Lists

Usenet discussion boards on terrorism were crammed with angry postings, many urging violent reprisals. The instantaneousness of electronic communication, however, not only aided the proliferation of information. It also fostered the spread of misinformation, including rumours of a fifth hijacked airline forced down in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, in Northwest Canada. That incident turned out to be unrelated, instead involving a Korea Airlines flight that was low on fuel and needed to land.

At Yahoo, some users set up chat groups to exchange information about the disaster. Internet portal Lycos created an information page labelled "US Attacked: What You Can Do." The site offers a multitude of links to charities and links to victim assistance groups.

IRC Chat

When normal Web and Internet paths are overloaded IRC has always been a good source of information when something important happens. It's often seen as a sort of 'backdoor' to the rest of the Internet. As always though you will often find good information about the events and some rumours flying, it is best to try to keep an objective viewpoint in these situations.

Thousands joined in using chat rooms to exchange information on the attacks. Already people have set up discussion groups using IRC. For those interested you will find them under "Worldtradecenter," "Wtc" and "Terrorist-moderated."

Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging services from Yahoo and America Online experienced increased demand as people sought to contact friends and family. Yahoo’s network experienced an unprecedented increase in traffic and they needed to add more servers to handle the load.

Some Wireless companies asked their customers to use short text messaging which is similar to sending instant messages on PCs. Such messages are sent over a different network so they don't clog the ones used for voice calls or emergencies.

Remailing Systems

System Operators worried about false tips, and terrorist propaganda throughout the early stages shut down a service called "remailing". This service allows people to disguise their identity when posting to Internet sites and newsletters. This is achieved by allowing those who want to maintain their privacy online to anonymously send e-mail by bouncing it through several servers.

According to e-mail from Randseed, one such service, theirs was taken offline as a precautionary measure to thwart bogus threats or tips from anonymous senders.

The Ugly Side

Uncontrolled communications systems also demonstrate how conspiracy theorists and users with fringe political ideas can use the medium as a platform to preach their own versions of history. Some posted with a message blaming the U.S. government for either carrying out the terrorism or purposely ignoring warning signs as a ruse to seize more civil freedoms from U.S. citizens. Others simply decided to blame the entire Arab world.

Communications Challenge of Survival

The collapse of the World Trade Centre destroyed a number of high-speed switches and circuits in the basement of the building. Traffic was automatically routed around the damaged circuits. Defence Department command and control networks continued to function normally despite the terrorist attack against the Pentagon.

Internet As An Investigation Tool

More than 22,700 tips have poured into the special Web site set up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to manage leads in the investigation. It intends to use its advanced "Carnivore" E-mail sniffing tool to find leads in the case.

Two major Internet service providers have acknowledged that they are cooperating with the FBI in the search for data that could help lead investigators to individuals who may have assisted the hijackers. They are providing information from their user and connection logs.

Disaster Recovery

It is still not known whether critical data has been lost. Disaster recovery systems are set to be tested as several important financial organisations hit by the blast attempt to recover back up systems. Specialists are already working with clients affected but it is still too early to say as many systems have been destroyed including back up systems that were on different floors.

Systems Still Under Threat

The FBI’s Counter terrorism division has issued an advisory, the agency’s second highest alert condition, urging public and private sector members to beef up security. The advisory will stay in effect until October 11. One system, InfraGard is a joint public/private sector program designed to share information about possible cyber attacks and cyber crime. They are telling their members that if a system is not mission critical to take it down. Increased vigilance would be appropriate for all information systems and services.

Impact on the Internet Industry

The catastrophic terrorist attacks may not necessarily spell long-term disaster for tech companies. Security firms, for one, could benefit tremendously.

Increased spending on network security and defence technology as a result of the attacks is expected. There will also be a change of attitude on the view of information technology and its vulnerability in the event of a physical attack. Furthermore, both business and government will probably have to spend billions on technology to restore the telecom and Internet infrastructure.

Arthur Hissey
Computer Research & Technology
www.crt.net.au