This is the First Detailed Public Map of the US Internet Infrastructure

Computer scientists at the University of Wisconsin just released the first public map of the infrastructure that supports the heart of the US Internet. "The map shows the paths taken by the long-distance fiber-optic cables that carry Internet data across the continental US. The exact routes of those cables, which belong to major telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Level 3, have not been previously publicly viewable, despite the fact that they are effectively critical public infrastructure," says computer scientist Paul Barford.

Mapping the Internet’s infrastructure has been thought of as a security risk -- which is why some previous attempts have been illegal. This time, however, the Department of Homeland Security has made the map and the data behind it available to the public through the project called Predict.