Over the past three weeks, several major segments of the internet suddenly stopped working. Millions of users accessing websites such as ChatGPT, LinkedIn, and Spotify experienced unexpected crashes. Even trading services across the world were affected by this widespread disruption. Although these incidents happened on a global scale, the root cause behind them was surprisingly simple—two technical updates by a single company.
How Small Updates Triggered Global Failures
Two unexpected system failures occurred due to updates released by Cloudflare, a company many people are not even aware of.
- The first update involved changes to database permissions.
- The second update was meant to fix a long-standing bug that had existed for years without being addressed.
Both updates resulted in disruptions that impacted internet usage around the world. This raises an important question: How can two minor updates from one company affect the entire global internet?
To understand this, it is essential to explore how the internet worked before Cloudflare, what changed after its arrival, and what risks come with this new structure.
The Shift Toward an Increasingly Centralised Internet
The Outdated Idea of a Decentralised Web
Many assume the internet is a decentralised network of connected computers that communicate freely. While this is the foundational concept, the modern internet has evolved far beyond this. Over time, multiple new layers have been added to enhance speed, security, and performance. As a result, the web has become more centralised, forming a structured hierarchy.
A significant portion of global data traffic is now managed by a small group of infrastructure providers. These companies operate like the backbone of the digital world, forming a meta-layer that supports and protects the internet. Cloudflare is one of the leading companies in this group.
Challenges of the Early Internet: Speed and Security
Distance-Based Slowdowns
Websites originally depended on physical servers located in specific places. Users closer to these servers enjoyed fast loading times, while users farther away experienced slow responses due to long data travel distances.
Security Vulnerabilities
Servers were also exposed to security risks. Hackers could easily view IP addresses and locate weak points. The only protective method back then was a physical or hardware-based firewall—an additional computer that filtered unsafe traffic. But these firewalls had limitations and could not stop large-scale attacks.
The Rise of DDoS Attacks
Attackers started exploiting server weaknesses by launching Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks bombarded websites with fake traffic, exhausting their bandwidth and forcing them offline. By the mid-2000s, DDoS attacks became one of the most common forms of cyberattacks.
The Introduction of CDNs: A Turning Point
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| Photo Credit - cloudns.net |
In the late 1990s, companies began tackling these issues by moving data closer to users. Akamai introduced Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)—global networks of servers that store cached versions of website content.
This dramatically improved website performance and reduced load on original servers. However, CDN services were complex and expensive, accessible only to large corporations.
Cloudflare’s Transformation of Internet Infrastructure
A New Layer Between Users and Websites
In the mid-2000s, Cloudflare recognised that CDNs could be used not just for speed but also for security. Instead of relying on physical firewalls, protection could be delivered directly through the cloud.
Cloudflare offered:
- DDoS protection
- Traffic filtering
- Faster website performance
- A publicly accessible service
- A free tier for small websites
Small websites gained access to premium-grade performance and security that were once only available to major companies.
How Cloudflare Works
1. Acts as a Middle Layer
User requests no longer wander across the internet randomly. Cloudflare routes them to the nearest hub, checks if they are safe, and delivers cached content instantly. Unsafe requests are stopped before reaching the original server.
2. Masks IP Addresses
Cloudflare functions as a reverse proxy. This hides the real server’s IP address from the world. Attackers see only Cloudflare’s address, protecting the original server.
3. Absorbs Heavy Traffic
Cloudflare can absorb massive volumes of traffic—far beyond what any single server can handle.
4. Rate Limiting and Bot Detection
Cloudflare can control how many requests reach a website and challenge suspicious traffic. CAPTCHA-style verification checks are part of this process.
5. Anycast Routing for Speed
Cloudflare’s global server grid stores cached copies of websites. All servers share the same IP address. When users connect, their requests are directed to the nearest functioning server—boosting speed significantly.
Cloudflare’s Impact on Global Internet Traffic
Cloudflare handles more than 80 million requests per second, accounting for nearly 20% of global internet traffic.
Surveys show:
- 4 out of 5 websites using reverse proxy services rely on Cloudflare.
- Nearly half of the world’s top 10,000 websites use Cloudflare.
- Even crucial systems like banks and government websites depend on it.
Cloudflare operates in 125 countries, requiring scale and millions of paying customers to maintain its massive infrastructure.
Because it handles such high traffic volume, Cloudflare can detect global threats instantly. A cyberattack on a bank in New York can help protect a small business in Delhi through updated global rules.
The Centralisation Paradox
Micro Resilience, Macro Risk
Cloudflare strengthens individual websites but creates a systemic risk:
If Cloudflare fails, a large portion of the internet fails with it.
Websites heavily depend on Cloudflare’s layer and cannot bypass it instantly during outages. Although failures are rare, when they occur, they spread fast.
Cloudflare uses a technology called Quicksilver, which rapidly replicates information across all servers. This is efficient for updates—but dangerous if a faulty update is involved.
Recent Incidents: How One File Caused Global Chaos
In the recent outage, A file responsible for blocking malicious bots had duplicated lines of code. This increased its size beyond the allocated memory. Cloudflare servers began returning error messages for nearly all requests.
For over three hours, major platforms like AI services, social media sites, streaming apps, and communication tools went offline—all because of one malfunctioning file.
This event highlights the danger of a centralised internet—one error can ripple across the world within minutes.
The question now is whether diversifying away from Cloudflare will strengthen internet safety or return the web to a fragmented, less efficient state. The debate continues as the digital world becomes increasingly dependent on centralised infrastructure.
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