The idea that the internet is going to break sends a chill down the spine of many, and as the internet expanded, many of the basic hardware and software have fallen behind due to the rapid growth in terms of users that used to be measured in months or years to days. The millions of users of the internet have been falling prey to many of the flaws that have been left behind as the system grew in complexity and size that many experts wonder how the system survives to this day. The many flaws in the hardware design along with software flaws that are threatening to give hackers control of the web are so dangerous that many hardware developers along with those who make software to work on them are working hurriedly to come up with a patch that could address this weakness in how the internet handles web addresses through the myriad of interconnected networks that makes up the web.
The problems have been so grave that many experts believe it would only be time (actually a couple of years) before the internet is maxed out in terms of both hardware and software processing capacity. This should it occur could spell disaster to a lot of individuals and businesses who for sometime have been moving to go online for their work related functions. The mobile workforce would be rendered useless and without means to communicate to and from offices leaving them in the dark if nothing was to be done to remedy these current issues. Some even suggest that a total re-write and re-working of the internet is already in order for the internet is nothing compared to the model which it started out as a warning system for the US military during the Cold War.
All the fuss may simply be the belief of some or it may indeed be founded on reality and analysis of current information that is available regarding the overall health of the internet. Conspiracy theories abound regarding the goals of such a re-make of the web but it is agreed by all that it must be a concerted effort by everybody for no one body or country can shoulder the costs of such a move. Billions of dollars would be required to re-write the code (programs) that makes the internet work along with billions more to replace the antiquated hardware that was high tech a few years back also overwhelmed and failing due to the immense strain of daily internet use.
The Internet? Broken?!!? Naaahhh!!!
The internet has evolved into an uncontrollable organism or entity that no one can control. The wide scope and the millions of interconnected computers that make it up are all part of the system which makes it possible. Most IT experts that the internet is in need of an overhaul but the huge cost of making it better and removing all the problems that have been answered, that gave birth to several more problems is proving to be so hard to stop they defer it to the next time they get to it. There is much to be done with the internet, such as the establishment and replacement of ageing fiber optic networks that have failed before. Better equipment such as routers, switches and the implementation of back-up data transmission systems which would make it fail-proof would be a nice idea. Vulnerabilities which hackers capitalize on could be patched and repaired leaving less room for attacks. DOS attacks wherein data hubs are overloaded
True to this, most of the equipment in use by the internet has been gradually replaced with better and newer hardware but very vital links which cannot be turned off or hot swapped are prone to fail at a time or another. The failure of just one major link in the chain of inter-linked fiber networks can impact millions of users causing delays in internet use, millions of dollars of lost revenue for Internet based firms and other more sinister effects which could result in world turmoil. Imagine the network system of a small country which bought nuclear weapons off the black market can have these nukes launched beginning the end of all human life on earth. Banks which now use the internet for their transactional data transmission would have back-logged processing causing delays in millions of customer’s transactions.
The internet is indeed in need of a major overhaul yet the burden of cost and disruption is to prohibitive of such a move. It may happen sometime soon but with the current financial market crisis which is currently sweeping the globe, not in the too near future.