Monthly Archives: June 2011

New Arsenal Emerges in Struggle over Iran’s Internet

From left: Ehsan Norouzi, Issac Mao, Cyrus Farivar, and Mehdi Yahyanejad
From left: Ehsan Norouzi, Issac Mao, Cyrus Farivar, and Mehdi Yahyanejad

NEW YORK, Jun 20, 2011 (IPS) – Millions of Iranians who have lived under an intense level of internet filtering and advanced monitoring systems for years may soon benefit from new technology that sidesteps the censors.

Last week, the New York Times reported that “the [Barack] Obama administration is leading a global effort to deploy ‘shadow’ Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.”

One of these projects has been dubbed “Internet in a suitcase”. According to the Times, the suitcase – financed with a two-million- dollar State Department grant – could be smuggled across the border and quickly set up to allow wireless communication over a wide area with a link to the global Internet. Continue reading New Arsenal Emerges in Struggle over Iran’s Internet