Government services, banking, healthcare, logistics, and emergency response systems all rely heavily on internet connectivity. If a country were to suddenly lose access to the internet (whether due to cyberattacks, infrastructure failure, geopolitical conflict etc), the consequences could be catastrophic. To prevent mayhem, the government must establish a robust backup system that ensures continuity of essential services. This system should include a national intranet, a secure, decentralised network that can operate independently of the global internet. This can connect hospitals, emergency services, government departments, and financial systems using satellite links, radio-based mesh networks, fibre-optic redundancies etc. Data centres should be equipped with offline operational capabilities and protocols for secure data exchange. Manual overrides for digital systems and paper-based backups for identity verification and transactions should also be available in the event that they're required. A well-designed backup system isn’t just a technical safeguard and it’s not only necessary to cure paranoia. In a time of such geopolitical uncertainty, it’s important to think ahead like this….. and be able to go back to basics if we need to.