Kenya Experiences Connectivity Disruption Lasting Over Seven Hours

Kenya experienced a significant internet connectivity disruption beginning on the evening of July 29, with effects persisting for over seven hours. The event was characterized by a sharp drop in network backscatter traffic and reduced reachability of internet prefixes. The disruption was observed from approximately 17:23 UTC on July 29 until 00:30 UTC on July 30.

Technical Details

The overall severity score for the event was 656,635,478,796. The primary affected signals were the Merit Network Telescope (merit-nt) and active ping measurements (ping-slash24). The merit-nt signal, which measures unsolicited backscatter traffic as a proxy for overall internet activity, recorded a severity score of 12,578 and dropped by 85% from its peak between 17:23 and 19:52 UTC. The ping-slash24 signal, which measures ICMP reachability across IPv4 /24 network blocks, recorded a severity score of 3,092 and showed a 19% drop in reachability from 17:40 to 20:00 UTC.

Separately, the Google Traffic Report (gtr) signal, which measures deviations from expected traffic baselines, recorded a severity score of 16,885 and showed a 47% drop from its peak between 18:00 UTC on July 29 and 00:30 UTC on July 30. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) control plane visibility remained stable throughout the event, indicating no major routing announcements or withdrawals.

The cause has not been publicly attributed. Connectivity was reported restored by the end of the observation window.