►The Syrian government may have blocked Internet service nationwide. According to web monitoring services, more than 90 percent of the country has been disconnected from the Internet. Here’s a chart from Akamai [1] showing the blackout. “The Syrian government has not claimed responsibility for the blackout, so it remains possible that another group or actor is responsible, although it’s not clear who would have the capability to close down Internet access so widely and rapidly,” The Washington Post [2]reports. Egypt and Libya both shut down the Internet during unrest last year. 

►The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that it was hacked [3] recently. A hacker called Parastoo published the stolen data, including names and e-mail addresses of IAEA staff, Sunday with a message asking for the IAEA to open an investigation into Israel’s nuclear activities. If the organization doesn’t comply, the hacker plans to release “whereabouts for every single one of these individuals [4] alongside with bits of helpful personal and professional details.”

►The Pan-Arab Security Conference was this week. Here’s a write-up from AllAfrica.com [5].

►In other news, it was the FBI who alerted Canada [6] about a Navy officer who had been sending classified information to Russia. ♦ The FBI says there are no specific threats [7] to Jewish communities in the United States despite violence against Jews in other countries. ♦ And the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation [8]to provide immediate care to first responders and their families after a chemical or biological attack.