deepthi s28 February 2026: A large-scale disruption of Iran’s internet and communications networks coincided with reported missile strikes on several military locations.
Raising concerns among cybersecurity experts about the increasing integration of cyber operations with conventional military activity.
The blackout reportedly lasted more than 2 days, affecting approximately 90 million people.
Cyber and Military Operations Converge
For decades, hacking and military strikes were treated as largely separate domains.
Armed forces engaged with conventional weapons while cyber operations ran in the background – gathering intelligence or causing isolated disruptions, rarely in coordination with physical attacks.
That pattern appears to have shifted. Analysts say the February incident represented a deliberate convergence of both, timed to degrade Iran’s ability to respond.
The strategic logic, according to security researchers, is straightforward: a military force that can also sever its target’s communications leaves that target unable to coordinate, receive orders, or call for reinforcements.
Internet Disruptions Reported During Strikes
According to internet monitoring platform NetBlocks, Iran’s internet traffic dropped to less than 4% of normal levels during the disruption.
Cyber teams appear to have targeted the digital infrastructure routing online traffic, as well as communication networks used by Iran’s military and government.
The consequences extended beyond military command. Government officials reportedly struggled to communicate internally. State broadcasting faced significant disruption.
Civilians were unable to access news, contact family members, or determine the scale of what was occurring around them.
The country faced simultaneous physical and digital paralysis, significantly hampering any organised response.
Experts Warn of Broader Risks
“Modern conflicts increasingly involve both cyber and kinetic operations,”
Cybersecurity analysts noted, adding that disruption of communication networks can significantly degrade response capabilities across military and civilian systems alike.
Similar tactics have been observed in previous conflicts, including cyber operations linked to the Russia–Ukraine war, where attacks targeted satellite networks, power grids, and government infrastructure.
The February incident, however, represents one of the more documented cases of cyber disruption running in direct, timed coordination with missile strikes.
Security researchers stress that the tools involved – traffic overloading, infrastructure targeting, and communication jamming – are not exclusive to any single nation and are actively being developed by multiple state and non-state actors.
Cybersecurity Implications for Governments and Organisations
Every modern country operates on digital infrastructure. Hospitals, power stations, financial networks, water systems, and transport services all depend on internet connectivity to function.
Disruption of that connectivity during a conflict carries consequences that extend well beyond the military – affecting public access to healthcare, emergency services, and financial systems.
Cybersecurity professionals say organisations should review their resilience strategies, including backup communications systems, continuity planning for critical services, and incident response preparedness.
Experts at Mitigata note that organisations must plan for extended communication outages, not just short-term disruptions – and that cross-border information sharing will be essential, given that these attacks do not respect national boundaries.
Implications for Future Conflicts
The incident raises unresolved legal and ethical questions that existing frameworks are ill-equipped to answer.
When cyber operations disable civilian infrastructure during a military conflict – hospitals, financial networks, or emergency services – questions of accountability remain largely unanswered.
International laws governing warfare were developed before the era of large-scale cyber operations and are struggling to keep pace.
The incident highlights how digital infrastructure is becoming an increasingly critical component of national security, with experts warning that cyber disruptions are likely to play a larger role in future conflicts as the gap between technological capability and governing frameworks continues to widen.
akshit k
areena g