Much has been made of the fact that Egypt shut down both the internet and the mobile phone networks to try and quell widespread protests. While the internet is still down in the country mobile phones are back up and operating.

 A great resource for both those wishing to follow what is going on in the country and those in the country protesting is a site called Cyber Dissidents. The site deals with cyber-activism all over the Middle East.

 Currently they are providing a platform for those concerned with the situation in Egypt. Most recently they have a posted a guide that was being distributed in the country via email and by hand.

 “As you'll read, the creators of the pamphlet explicitly asked that the pamphlet not be distributed on Twitter or Facebook, only through email or other contacts. We're publishing this piece of ephemera because we think it's a fascinating part of the historical record of what may end up becoming a very historic day for Egypt.”

 The site has been writing about the building threat to cyber-activists including what happened a year ago. It was clear the Egyptian security services had a plan in plan to shut down online activism.

 "The bloggers' cellphones and IDs were taken by Egyptian police. Though they were released a day later, this crackdown sent shockwaves through the dissident community in Egypt. Wael Abbas was even rearrested and sentenced to six months in prison on the spurious charge of damaging an Internet cable.”

Interestingly enough these activists are will to go low-tech to get their message out Fox news is reporting.

 “Egyptians armed with low-tech electronic gadgets like dial-up modems, landlines and old-school satellite phones are finding ways to get their message out, despite efforts by the teetering government to block communication.”

 We often hear about the cyber-war between rival countries. This is the cyber-war between governments and their own people. Something that some Senators want the US government to be able to do.