There is a story circulating the web that five major Internet cables, mainly around the Middle East and South East Asia, have been cut since the beginning of the year, disrupting millions of users. Even in this report on PC Mechanic, the details are all contradictory in terms of how many people were effected and even whether this represents a curious mystery or just a common problem with under-water cables.

I remember seeing a TV show once, I can't remember what it was called. It starred Eliza Dushku, who played Faith in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series. Anyway, the scenario was that solar flairs from the sun had disrupted all electrical appliances in the United States and in the aftermath, the economy had collapsed and with it, social order.

So all these rumors and conspiracies about these cut cables got me thinking about what it would be like if global Internet connectivity was sabotaged. If all the under-sea cables were cut and the satellites blown from the sky. I'd be out of a job for one thing. The global economy would be effected, but would we be able to revert back to the old way we all used to do business and banking and communications?

About twelve years ago I was working in administration at a major Australian university and the student records were being moved over from hand written cards to a database. I remember some of the staff feeling very nervous about not maintaining the cards. What if the database was lost or there was a power-out when you needed to look at a record? At the moment, the Internet provides a lot of convenience and it's like one giant reference book as well. But imagine five years from now, when many people will be using online applications and storing data online. If all Internet connectivity was cut at that point, it really would be as catastrophic as electricity being unavailable.

A global blackout of the Internet would make for a good blockbuster movie or end of year best seller, but is there any real risk of this happening? Ironically, the Internet provides the full gamut of speculation, a cocktail of fact and fiction, from conspiracy theories involving the US government, to engineers claiming they repair cables daily and cannot believe the fuss being made - and everything in between. It's a good thing the cables are in the sea - the Internet needs some salt on it.