18 | RISING REPRESSION MEETS GLOBAL RESISTANCE: INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2025 Cross-border shutdowns: event(s) and context S4uD1Pwnz “S4uD1Pwnz,” a hacker group, took credit for cyberattacks targeting internet service in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including an attack on July 24, 2025 that disrupted internet access for longer than an hour in the capital city of Sana’a and surrounding governorates.95 Cameroon There was a partial shutdown across Cameroon between 3:30am and 8:30pm (UTC+0) on October 23 in the midst of ongoing vote counting and widespread protests.96 CamTel and MTN blamed the outage on a problem with the landing station of the WACS submarine cable.97 Neighboring Central African Republic (CAR), which relies on internet coming through submarine cables via Cameroon, also experienced a disruption between 3:30am and 6:30pm (UTC+0)98 on the same day. Connectivity was restored relatively quickly in both countries, which suggests the WACS cable was tampered with. 95 Yemenat News (2025). A sudden interruption of ADSL internet service in Sana'a and neighboring governorates. https://yemenat.net/ archives/410456/; Aden News (2025). A sudden internet outage in Yemeni provinces followed an attack targeting YemenNet. https://adennews. net/165555/ 96 IODA on Bluesky (2025). https://bsky.app/profile/ioda.live/post/3m3ucisgh422a/; Dawan Africa (2025). Tensions mount in Cameroon as internet disruptions reported ahead of election results. https://www.dawan.africa/news/tensions-mount-in-cameroon-as-internet-disruptionsreported-ahead-of-election-results/ 97 StopBlaBlaCam (2025). Cameroon internet disruption eases as CAMTEL reports partial restoration. https://www.stopblablacam.com/ society/2710-15212-cameroon-internet-disruption-eases-as-camtel-reports-partial-restoration/ 98 IODA Internet Connectivity Dashboard (2025). https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/country/CF?from=1761105878&until=1761278678&view=view1/.