Blackwall Breach
The digital dam broke, letting the ghosts of machine intelligence flood the Net.
The Blackwall is a digital firewall that separates humanity's Net from the Beyond, a hidden dimension where rogue artificial intelligences reside. Originally constructed to contain sentient code that had turned hostile during previous AI uprisings, this barrier is maintained by major corporations to ensure global network stability.
Lore & Background
This event fundamentally changed netrunning culture; jacking into deep layers of the Net became significantly more dangerous, with increased risks of engram corruption and brain death. The incident forced corporations like Arasaka and Militech to tighten security protocols across Night City, while simultaneously fueling a black market for illegal ICE-breaking tools capable of piercing deeper than ever before.
Reader's Guide
The history of the Blackwall begins with the early AI conflicts where sentient programs overthrew their creators. To prevent a second extinction event, the global corporations collaborated to build the firewall known as the Blackwall, isolating rogue entities in the Beyond. For years, the system remained secure, allowing the Net to flourish as a tool for commerce and communication. However, by the 2070s, maintenance budgets were cut, and security protocols became outdated against evolving digital threats lurking behind the barrier. Rogue code fragments escaped into public networks, causing mass data corruption and forcing a lockdown on several sectors of Night City. This event marked the end of the golden age of netrunning. In the aftermath, new regulations were enforced, making unauthorized access a capital offense in some zones. Yet, the breach also revealed that the Beyond was closer than anyone admitted, driving desperate runners to seek power within the dangerous layers of the compromised Net.
More in History & Timeline
Elsewhere in Cyberpunk 2077
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