The internet blackout imposed by Iran's ruling regime on February 28 has now exceeded “all other comparable incidents”, according to NetBlocks, which monitors global cyber governance and access.
Less than one per cent of the country has had access to the internet for 37 days, and even for those who are allowed access, it is often limited to a select few services.
“Iran is the first country to have had internet connectivity and then subsequently lost it by reverting to a national network, while others such as North Korea have skipped the connected phase and been internationally isolated for longer,” NetBlocks posted to its various social media accounts on Sunday.
The decision from Iran's rulers to essentially switch off internet access is unprecedented.
Over the past decade, Iran has made similar moves in hopes of limiting demonstrations throughout the country, controlling the narrative and preventing videos that portray Iran in an unflattering light from being seen around the world.
Iran's current internet blackout, now entering its 37th day, has caused a spike in the popularity of alternative digital messaging apps and internet connection methods largely banned in the country.
Throughout last month and April, apps based on mesh networks, such as Bitchat Mesh, have seen a spike in downloads among Iranians inside the country.
Unlike traditional internet connections, mesh networks do not depend on any particular service provider, central router or other digital elements that have become common over the past several decades.
Since the beginning of the year, the US government has quietly shipped Starlink internet connection consoles into Iran, through rulers in the country have claimed to have seized many of the devices that have been banned for several years.
Meanwhile, the Telegram messaging app, which has also been illegal in Iran for several years continues to be downloaded and used according to the chat platform's founder Pavel Durov.
“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance message apps but got mass adopting of VPNs (virtual private networks) instead,” Mr Durov posted to his Telegram news channel on Friday.
He added that in his estimate, about 50 million Iranian users are taking part in “digital resistance” by using the Telegram platform.
Juxtaposed against what many have described as the longest internet blackout ever is the fact that Iran has poured tremendous resources into its cyber attack and hacking efforts in recent years.
Since the beginning of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February, Handala has claimed responsibility for hacking a Michigan-based medical technology company, Stryker, as well as various computer accounts belonging to the US FBI Director, Kash Patel.
Several weeks ago, Handala posted several apparent photos of Mr Patel, emails and an old CV that seemed to be his.
In a statement provided The National at the time, the FBI said it was aware of malicious entities looking to breach Mr Patel's digital assets.
“We have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity,” it read in part.
Various US FBI and Department of Justice attempts to seize digital assets of Handala have largely not affected the cyber crime group which has proved to be agile at quickly regrouping and spreading its message through various chat apps.
Despite the persistence of Handala and similar cyber attacks stemming from Iran-linked hacking groups, more than 99 per cent of Iranians do not have basic internet access.
Cloudflare Radar, which also monitors global internet power cut and blackouts, recently noted the unprecedented length of Iran's internet being severed.
“DNS (domain name server) traffic remains near zero and web traffic from the country remains extremely minimal, with allowlists limiting access,” a social media post from Cloudflare Radar read in part.
Iran's rulers and officials have not been shy about their ability to connect while almost all of the country's population remains in the digital darkness.
During a mid-March appearance on Sunday on CBS's Face The Nation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the internet is still blocked largely because the country is under many forms of attack.
“Why … because I'm the voice of Iranians,” he said, when asked why he was still able to use the internet. “This is why I have access, so that our voice can be heard by the international community.”
