What would happen if the entire internet went down as popular apps suddenly stop working

It's been quite the chaotic start to the working week as just this morning (20 October) seemingly 'half the internet' went down.

Downdetector, a website that tracks complaints about websites and web services not working, showed the sudden and widespread nature of the outage, which has affected a whole load of popular websites and apps, including some major banks.

The problems appear to be related to an issue at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing platform that lets people 'rent' servers without the need to buy physical computers or data centres.

AWS has since issued a series of updates on the case as concerns grow across the globe, with one of the latest assuring internet and social media users that 'significant signs of recovery' are underway.

Now, while several services appear to be back up and running, it's left people wondering what would actually happen if the entire internet went down...

Instant shutdown of many digital services

Because AWS hosts a colossal number of websites, apps and backend systems, when it falters many dependent services go off-line or exhibit severe errors.

So, when it falters, many dependent services go off-line or exhibit severe errors.

But, if the entire internet went down, this effect would scale to nearly everything: social media, streaming services, e-commerce sites, business apps - even government portals!

Massive economic disruption and payment failures

With much of commerce going online - think payment gateways, banking apps, e-commerce, subscriptions - a full internet down would hit revenues, transactions and customer trust.

This morning’s outage already impacted banking/financial systems (UK banks like Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and the UK tax authority HM Revenue & Customs for example) as services relying on AWS struggled.

But, in a full internet outage, retail would collapse, supply chains would get delayed, payrolls would slip, and the consequential effects would be monumental.

Communication breakdowns

Much of our communications - email, messaging apps, VoIP, video calls - rely on the internet.

So, when AWS issues hit today, apps like Slack, Zoom and several others were affected.

And if the internet was fully down it would mean that businesses couldn’t coordinate, emergency services might struggle, and people would revert to more 'vintage' means of communication like phone calls, radio and in‐person chats.

Infrastructure and services we take for granted would falter

In this modern world, many of us rely on tech like smart-home devices, security systems and doorbell cameras - all of which rely on cloud or internet connectivity.

For example, this morning the smart doorbell brand Ring (an Amazon company) was disrupted.

In a full internet shutdown, street lighting control, smart traffic systems, even utilities monitoring could see failures.

Geopolitical and national security risks

Governments, militaries and intelligence services use the internet and cloud infrastructure extensively with a major outage, or a full internet down, opening up major security risks.

Such risks may include an inability to respond to crises, coordinate internationally or manage critical alerts.

Today alone, disruptions to banking, government tax services and major infrastructure were reported.

But a global shutdown would spark concerns over heightened vulnerabilities, potential for power imbalances and emergency procedures triggered.

When approached for comment on the matter, Amazon pointed Tyla to the AWS Health Dashboard.