I find this to be sad news but from the point of view of the Iranian Government it makes sense. They want their people to have as little contact with the outside world as possible. They need to be in control of all communications. Otherwise that simmering pot known as the Iranian public will boil over onto their faces.Iran's government has decided to push past regular villainy and head straight for cartoonish super-villainy with its plan to build its own internet. Being one of the "most sophisticated nations in online censoring" just isn't enough these days, what with every "civilized" nation pushing its own brand of censorship. It looks as if Iran has decided that if the internet is too difficult to regulate, it may be easier to start from the ground floor.
Iran is promoting its national internet as a "cost-saving measure for consumers and a way to uphold Islamic moral codes." This will operate in parallel with the existing internet before making the switch to IOL or whatever this new censornet will be called. The roll-out is going quickly, with 60% of Iran's homes and businesses migrating "soon," with the entire country due to be completely severed from the rest of the world "within two years."
The Iranian government is also looking to install a new basement (if we follow the "new internet = "ground floor" analogy -- and I guess we will). It intends to roll out its own operating system to replace Windows within the coming months. Ali Aghamohammadi, the Iranian Head of Economic Affairs, has expressed his confidence that the government-approved internet and operating system will also be deployed by other Muslim countries.
This bit of dismaying news had no sooner graced the pages of the un-Iranian internet when information surfaced that Anonymous had hacked the Iranian government's computers. The "group" succeeded in harvesting 10,000 email messages from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing "approvals and rejections for a variety of visas and passports, among other requests, and correspondence."
In addition, Anonymous is planning a day-long DDoS attack to commemorate the anniversary of the 2009 elections, which saw Ahmadinejad doing everything from shutting down Facebook access to ordering the torching of an opponent's campaign office.
Whether these actions will hasten or delay the implementation of the Iran-only internet remains to be seen. Iran has only stated that it will be rolled out "soon," wording, which is vague enough that either side can claim it acheived its goals. As more anti-government activity flares up in nearby regions, usually accompanied by a shutdown of communication services, it would surprise exactly no one if other like-minded countries begin to view Iran as their ISP of choice.
What worries isn't that this will work, but that everyone else including our own governments will start thinking this is an good idea to copy.
