Telefonica's Spanish network update causes partial communications outage

MADRID, May 20 (Reuters) - Spanish telecom company Telefonica (TEF.MC), opens new tab said works to update its network had caused a communications outage of fixed phone and internet lines in some areas of Spain on Tuesday, three weeks after the country suffered a catastrophic power blackout.
The company said in a brief statement its crews were working on reestablishing the service and the 112 Emergency lines were already back on in the affected areas after suffering disruptions since the early hours of Tuesday.
The communications outage comes after a massive electricity blackout in Spain and Portugal on April 28, whose causes are yet to be determined.
Telefonica is the second-largest operator in Spain after Orange's MasOrange, and other large providers' services were not affected. Telefonica's mobile service also appeared to work fine.
According to the Downdetector monitoring website, the disruptions being reported were mostly about fixed-line internet services in the regions of Aragon, Valencia, Andalusia, Extremadura, the Basque Country and Navarra.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Independent

6 hours ago

• The Independent

Judge rejects Airbnb's appeal in move that could change Spanish tourism forever

A Spanish court has upheld an order for Airbnb to block nearly 66,000 rental listings across the country, rejecting an appeal from the online platform. The ruling reinforces the government's stance that these short-term rentals violate local regulations and contribute to Spain 's escalating housing crisis, particularly as the nation experiences record tourist numbers. The Consumer Rights Ministry had previously flagged the listings for violations, issuing an order last month for Airbnb to remove 65,935 properties. Of these, 5,800 were identified for immediate takedown. An Airbnb spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment on the Madrid 's High Court 's decision. The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn't match what authorities had. Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press that the tourism sector could not "jeopardise the constitutional rights of the Spanish people.' This included their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government had to tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism. It comes following protests across Spain and popular European hotspots. Earlier this month, protesters used water guns against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and on the Spanish island of Mallorca as demonstrators marched to demand a rethink of an economic model they believe is fuelling a housing crunch and erasing the character of their hometowns. The marches were part of the first coordinated effort by activists concerned with the ills of overtourism across southern Europe's top destinations. While several thousands rallied in Mallorca in the biggest gathering of the day, hundreds more gathered in other Spanish cities, as well as in Venice, Italy, and Portugal's capital, Lisbon. 'The squirt guns are to bother the tourists a bit,' Andreu Martínez said in Barcelona with a chuckle after spritzing a couple seated at an outdoor café. 'Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents.' Martínez, a 42-year-old administrative assistant, is one of a growing number of residents who are convinced that tourism has gone too far in the city of 1.7 million people. Barcelona hosted 15.5 million visitors last year eager to see Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade. Martínez says his rent has risen over 30 per cent as more apartments in his neighborhood are rented to tourists for short-term stays. He said there is a knock-on effect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering to tourists, like souvenir shops, burger joints and 'bubble tea' spots. 'Our lives, as lifelong residents of Barcelona, are coming to an end," he said. "We are being pushed out systematically.'

The Independent

19 hours ago

• The Independent

Spanish judge rejects Airbnb appeal in order that changed country's tourism

A Spanish court rejected an appeal by Airbnb, upholding an order to block nearly 66,000 rental listings in the country. The government stated that the blocked listings violate local rules and contribute to Spain's housing crunch. The Consumer Rights Ministry had previously flagged the listings for issues such as missing license numbers or incorrect owner information. Spanish ministers emphasized that the tourism sector must not jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people, including their right to housing. The decision is part of the government's broader effort to address the unwanted side effects of mass tourism.

Daily Mail​

20 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

BREAKING NEWS 'Mother of all data breaches' sees 16b Apple and Google passwords exposed: Change yours NOW

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered what they are calling the 'mother of all breaches.' They discovered a massive collection of 30 databases containing more than 16 billion individual records, including passwords, for government accounts, Apple, Google, Facebook, Telegram and more websites. Some of the datasets had vague names like 'logins' or 'credentials,' which made it hard for the team to figure out exactly what they contained. Others, however, gave clues about where the data came from. According to the researchers, the records were most likely compiled by cybercriminals using various infostealing malware, though they noted that some data may also have been collected by so-called 'white hat' hackers. The team at Cybernews, which found the records, said the information available to the wider internet was only briefly, before being locked down, but it is not possible to determine who owned the databases. With more than 5.5 billion people worldwide using the internet, researchers warned that a staggering number of individuals likely had at least some of their accounts compromised. They are now urging users across the globe to change their passwords immediately to protect their data from falling into the hands of cybercriminals. 'The inclusion of both old and recent infostealer logs makes this data particularly dangerous for organizations lacking multi-factor authentication or credential hygiene practices,' the researchers said. Cybernews noted that its researchers identified a database of 184 million records that was previously uncovered in May, found by data breach hunter and security researcher Jeremiah Fowler. 'It barely scratches the top 20 of what the team discovered,' Cybernews explained. 'Most worryingly, researchers claim new massive datasets emerge every few weeks, signaling how prevalent infostealer malware truly is.' The database of 184 million records not only contained secure login data for millions of private citizens, but also had stolen account information connected to multiple governments around the world. While looking at a small sample of 10,000 of these stolen accounts, Fowler found 220 email addresses with .gov domains, linking them to more than 29 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, India, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. 'This is probably one of the weirdest ones I've found in many years,' Fowler told WIRED. 'As far as the risk factor here, this is way bigger than most of the stuff I find, because this is direct access into individual accounts. This is a cybercriminal's dream working list,' the cybersecurity expert continued. In total, Fowler discovered 47 gigabytes of data with sensitive information for accounts on various sites, including Instagram, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Roblox, and Discord. The best action to take right now is to change your passwords if you use any of these platforms and also activate Two-Factor Authentication, which adds another layer of security to logging in by sending a secure code to your phone or email. The unprotected database was managed by World Host Group, a web hosting and domain name provider founded in 2019. It operates over 20 brands globally, offering cloud hosting, domain services, and technical support for businesses of all sizes. Once Fowler confirmed that the exposed information was genuine, he reported the breach to World Host Group, which shut down access to the database. Seb de Lemos, CEO of World Host Group, told WIRED: 'It appears a fraudulent user signed up and uploaded illegal content to their server.' Fowler said 'the only thing that makes sense' is that the breach was the work of a cybercriminal because there's no other way to gain that much access to information from so many servers around the world. The cybersecurity expert warned that this particular breach also poses a major national security risk. Exploiting government email accounts could allow hackers and foreign agents access to sensitive or even top-secret systems. The stolen data could also be used as part of a larger phishing campaign, using one person's hacked account to gain private information from other potential victims.