Cape Verde experienced a significant internet connectivity disruption beginning on August 21, 2026, and lasting for more than eight hours. The event, which started around 15:50 UTC and concluded near 00:30 UTC the following day, was characterized by a severe degradation in network reachability.
Technical Details
The disruption registered a severity score of 11,147, primarily driven by a sharp decline in the ping-slash24 signal. This metric measures the reachability of IPv4 network prefixes using ICMP probes. During the event, the signal showed a 7% drop from its peak value, indicating widespread packet loss and unreachable networks across the country.
Other signals also registered anomalies. The merit-nt signal, a proxy for aggregate connectivity based on backscatter traffic, recorded a substantial 65% drop from its peak. The gtr-norm signal, which measures deviations from an expected traffic baseline, fell by 8%. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) control plane, which manages routing information between networks, remained stable throughout the event, showing no observable withdrawal of network prefixes.
The cause has not been publicly attributed.
Connectivity was reported restored by the end of the observation period.
About the Author
