Consumer routers/switches have a lot of different brands. Netgear, Linksys, ASUS etc. Some of these companies are US based but all of their devices are made (assembled) in China or Taiwan. The chips inside them are all made in various places around the world, but mostly China.
The big routers/devices that most (not all) of the internet runs on are made by Cisco. Cisco is an American multi-national company but a vast majority (if not all by now) of their products are made in China and software that runs on their hardware (Cisco IOS) is proprietary to Cisco.
Fun tidbit, in Georgia after the election in 2020 people were hanging around at the back of some building telling the world that boxes with 'Cisco' and 'China' written on it were coming out the back into random trucks. Like everything else when you buy a product the box had Made in China stamped on it.
I'm guessing there's a strategic plan to take down the internet created by our own government. Our government has tactical options for any scenario. I would believe they have one to take the internet down, and Cisco is probably the first partner on the list. I know someone who was essentially the head liaison between Cisco and the US government. Although they've never said anything specifically about it before, the government and cisco have had a close relationship for many years.
Consumer routers/switches have a lot of different brands. Netgear, Linksys, ASUS etc. Some of these companies are US based but all of their devices are made (assembled) in China or Taiwan. The chips inside them are all made in various places around the world, but mostly China.
The big routers/devices that most (not all) of the internet runs on are made by Cisco. Cisco is an American multi-national company but a vast majority (if not all by now) of their products are made in China and software that runs on their hardware (Cisco IOS) is proprietary to Cisco.
Fun tidbit, in Georgia after the election in 2020 people were hanging around at the back of some building telling the world that boxes with 'Cisco' and 'China' written on it were coming out the back into random trucks. Like everything else when you buy a product the box had Made in China stamped on it.
Cisco is what I was hinting at. Seems as if an Internet “blackout” were to occur, Cisco would have to be involved.
If there is a 0-day in the Cisco IOS they might (already) be unwilling participants.
I'm guessing there's a strategic plan to take down the internet created by our own government. Our government has tactical options for any scenario. I would believe they have one to take the internet down, and Cisco is probably the first partner on the list. I know someone who was essentially the head liaison between Cisco and the US government. Although they've never said anything specifically about it before, the government and cisco have had a close relationship for many years.