Could Swine Flu Overwhelm the Internet?

As we turn the corner on 2009 and head down the home stretch, we're also running right into the wall of flu season, which means more (legit) sick days. Instead of just moaning in bed, though, many workers are now spending their sick days telecommuting from home, going online to touch base and keep up with the office. In the face of the recent H1N1 [Ed., Thanks, CAE.] pandemic, the number of telecommuters is, of course, expected to skyrocket. So many, in fact, may be connecting at home, that the Internet might just, um, break.

At least that's what a federal government report warned earlier this month. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for making sure that national and international communication systems (including the Internet) are protected from terrorist attacks or similar widespread calamity. Though Homeland Security has taken steps to protect the Internet from getting overwhelmed, critical and necessary actions remain to be taken, according to the Congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO).

To date, there has been no coordination between the Federal Communications Commission and other governmental bodies to determine if they can, or should, order otherwise autonomous Internet providers to relieve heavy network traffic -- whether by adding extra capacity, installing direct lines to especially important organizations, reducing maximum transition rates, or other measures. Furthermore, the government has yet to mount a campaign to decrease superfluous home Internet use during times of emergency, even though internal research suggests such a campaign would be effective.

Luckily, this is all pretty hypothetical for now. But if the pandemic worsens, work and school absentee rates could reach upwards of 40-percent at any given moment, experts predict. And if the virus does spread, the Internet will almost certainly feel the pressure. At best, we'd all probably experience some slowdown. At worst? Bedlam. Some are skeptical, pointing to the fact that the same Y2K-like doomsday scenario was entertained during the SARS and avian flu pandemics, but never came to fruition. Still, we hope the government gets on it soon now -- if only because there's nothing worse than being sick at home, with your only human contact being with Judge Judy. [From: Reuters and Scientific American]

Tags: government, health, internet, pandemic, swine flu, SwineFlu, telecommuting, top