Item — HN Reader

Thank you for sharing.

This actually scratches an itch I've had on and off over the years. Over a decade ago, I remember reading a Quora post along the lines of 'How does ISIS still have internet? Who maintains the infrastructure?', and the only response was from an alleged ISIS propagandist (or an internet troll) with vagueries about the reach of ISIS, and that they couldn't answer for "security reasons".

That question lived in my head on and off throughout college, and I'm glad to have gotten a bit closer to understanding the reality of what was happening on the ground.

Its very difficult to cut a large organisation with guns off from the internet.

Have you seen the various reports about Mexican gangs? Apparently they can just install whatever they like on anyones towers, and people who complain about it tend to come down with severe lead poisoning. Was reading one blog, and the tech suggested that if he saw someone else working on a tower, he would just drive away and call in sick that day.