ORF DOK1 Experiment on Hypothetical Internet Outage
ORF DOK1 conducted a thought experiment to investigate, with tangible examples, the extent to which the Internet and various digital applications are woven into the fabric of our daily lives, and how a large-scale Internet outage could impact us. Hanno Settele and his team delved into this inquiry by examining scenarios involving the Vienna rescue team, the A1 Telekom data center, and REWE’s essential food supply chain. The investigation highlighted global consequences, such as how the digital breakdown of a port operator in Australia impacted its partner company, Cargo Partners, halfway across the globe in Fischamend. Another case study examined how a cyberattack immobilized the Austrian crane manufacturing company Palfinger, affecting all its international production sites for days.
TUW Senior Scientist Joachim Fabini, along with other experts, shared insights on the benefits and hazards associated with our digital society. He pointed out the inherent complexity of the systems—both hardware and software in use—underscoring the inevitability of errors. Considering the omnipresent risk of failures, society must prepare for possible outcomes, with experts diligently working to mitigate such incidents.
The film is available on the ORF website.
