A new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction warns that humanity is dangerously unprepared for large-scale failures of critical digital infrastructure, including satellite breakdowns, massive power outages, and disruptions to undersea communication cables.
According to the report, the collapse of key digital systems could have devastating consequences worldwide.
“What would happen if tomorrow mobile phones and the internet stopped functioning, payments failed, hospitals lost patient data, and emergency alerts never arrived?” the report asks. “What sounds like science fiction could become reality.”
The UN agencies describe the threat as a potential “digital pandemic” and outline three alarming scenarios:
A Solar Storm Like the 1859 Event
The report references a powerful solar storm similar to the 1859 Carrington Event, when telegraph operators suffered electric shocks and equipment caught fire.
Today, such a storm could disrupt satellite navigation, aviation radar systems, autonomous vehicles, financial transactions, and electrical grids. Geomagnetic currents could destroy transformers, causing long-term power outages and overwhelming data centers once backup systems fail.
Extreme Heatwaves Like Europe in 2003
Extreme heat could overload cooling systems for data centers and critical infrastructure. Rising river temperatures may also reduce the operational capacity of nuclear plants, while low water levels could disrupt fuel transport for backup generators.
The report warns that payment systems, mobile networks, and digital services could collapse if cooling systems fail.
A Volcanic Eruption Like Tonga in 2022
The 2022 underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga severed an undersea cable connecting the island nation to the outside world.
A similar event today could leave countries without internet access for weeks, disrupting communications, commerce, and emergency response systems.
What Needs to Be Done?
The report stresses that governments often assess risks separately, while real danger emerges when failures cascade across multiple critical systems simultaneously.
The ITU and UNDRR recommend building stronger emergency preparedness systems and maintaining analog backup capabilities to ensure societies can continue functioning during major digital disruptions.
