Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had widespread outages Monday. “We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products,” Facebook tweeted at 12:22 p.m. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.” Instagram noted the platform is “having a little bit of a hard time right now.” WhatsApp said it was “working to get things back to normal.” The outages began around 11:45 a.m. EDT and continued for several hours. Network analytics company Kentik said “initial indications” suggest this came from a domain name system issue. Traffic to Facebook “virtually disappeared” at 11:39 a.m. Monday, said Kentik. AT&T, T-Mobile, Xfinity and Verizon also had spikes in service outages reported in the same time frame as the Facebook outage, per Downdetector data. “Facebook and Instagram had an outage today” and “some folks were trying to connect the dots,” emailed a Verizon spokesperson: “Our network is fully functioning.” The broader Facebook outage is affecting access to some apps, but T-Mobile’s network isn’t experiencing service issues, a spokesperson said.

Steady expansion in the enterprise and consumer segments for virtual reality will drive a 42% compound annual growth rate in global market revenue, reaching more than $56 billion by 2026, reported ABI Research Thursday. VR has had “many ups and downs” during this pandemic, hampering growth around location-based VR but finding increasing traction in consumer applications, said ABI: “VR gaming is driving the consumer VR market today.”

The in-flight connectivity market for business aircraft has largely recovered from the pandemic, said Valour Consultancy co-founder and analyst Craig Foster Thursday in a webinar, saying Gogo and Inmarsat are close to resuming installation rates in line with pre-COVID-19 trends. He said it will take a handful of years before new low earth orbit constellations filter through to smaller aircraft as those constellations' initial focus will be on large-cabin jets. He said small and mid-sized aircraft are technological challenges for LEO satellite services, such as creating electronically steered antennas for smaller aircraft. He said in the nearer term, the business aviation market will focus more on L-band service and air-to-ground systems.

“If you want to stop ransomware, you need Guardicore,” said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton on an investor call Wednesday, explaining the company’s rationale for buying the “micro-segmentation” cybersecurity systems provider. It's paying $600 million cash, said Akamai Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan. The transaction is expected to close in Q4. Enterprises are confronting “a rapidly evolving threat landscape, with sophisticated attackers who are trying to steal their data, disrupt their operations and extort them for large sums,” said Leighton. “Recent growth of ransomware and other malware-based attacks is explosive,” he said, citing estimates that ransomware-infected devices jumped “35-fold” last year. Attack costs are expected to exceed $20 billion globally this year, he said. Leighton knows of Illumio as Guardicore’s only direct competitor, he said. Akamai/Guardicore "further underscores the critical need" for zero trust micro-segmentation "as a core component of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy," emailed Illumio CEO Andrew Rubin. "Akamai is the latest company to react to customers’ recognition of the vital role" that micro-segmentation plays in improving an organization's "security posture, increasing cyber-resiliency and preventing cyber catastrophes," he said. "The need for a new approach to cybersecurity has been reinforced by the barrage of ransomware attacks we have witnessed over the past 12 months."

“Workforce professionals” are more pessimistic than a year ago about the “general state” of cybersecurity in the U.S. economy, reported CompTIA Tuesday. The association canvassed 400 U.S. respondents online in Q3, finding 69% say cybersecurity was improving, down from 80% in its 2020 survey, it said: “Prolonged pandemic uncertainty, ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure, and supply chain attacks rippling through the business landscape were all likely contributors to a more pessimistic sentiment.” CompTIA found “less satisfaction” on how corporate America was handling cyberthreats, it said. In 2020, 82% of professionals said they were satisfied with their company’s approach to cybersecurity, dropping to 70% in this year’s survey, it said: “Given everything happening on the world stage, practices that were previously considered good enough might not be cutting it anymore.” The numbers “tell the tale” about why cybersecurity has become a “top priority” for U.S. enterprises, said CompTIA. “Attacks are coming at a ferocious pace, and a single data breach could cost a company millions of dollars along with massive amounts of time.” The “ultimate threat” from bad actors is a ruined corporate reputation “that can damage business prospects for years,” it said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sought a probe by State Secretary Laurel Lee (R) into alleged election interference by Facebook, the governor’s office said Monday. Responding to a Sept. 13 Wall Street Journal report, DeSantis directed Lee to investigate whether Facebook violated Florida law. “If this new report is true, Facebook has violated Florida law to put its thumb on the scale of numerous state and local races,” DeSantis said. The company didn’t comment.

LG Electronics' board OK'd buying 64% of vehicle cybersecurity risk assessment provider Cybellum for $140 million, said LG Thursday: This will boost LG’s cybersecurity capabilities and speed efforts to become an “innovation partner for future mobility." LG committed to a simple agreement for future equity to invest an additional $20 million in Cybellum when the deal closes in Q4.

The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) and other groups supported Aura Network Systems and A2G Communications' asking for a rulemaking on expanding use of air-ground radiotelephone service (AGRAS) channels between 454.675-454.975 MHz and 459.675-459.975 MHz for voice and data communications, including by drones (see 2108250035). “The Alliance has previously noted that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to spectrum suitable for UAS, so it is critical that the FCC enable a full range of suitable and available communications technology,” CDA said in a filing posted Thursday in RM-11912. Aura's proposal “can play a critical role in making possible” long-range vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle operation, said Elroy Air. The University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site said the spectrum is needed to meet its goal of establishing a drone network throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. “Transmission of critical data to UAS via a highly reliable and secure network, as described in the Petition, will be critical if U.S. citizens, businesses, safety agencies and communities -- particularly rural communities -- are to benefit from expanded UAS,” the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma said.

WiMax Forum representatives updated an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the group’s 2017 proposal on service rules for aeronautical mobile airport communications systems, the subject of a 2019 NPRM (see 1909040057). Representatives “summarized the Forum’s proactive efforts to engage with equipment vendors and representatives from the avionics, airframe, and airline operator industries, as well as the various civil aviation authorities,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-140. Under the forum’s channel manager proposal, it said, the manager “will ensure efficient and effective coordination among eligible non-Federal AeroMACS users, ensure nationwide consistency in the allocation and use of the available AeroMACS channels, and provide a single point of contact to facilitate coordination with other authorized users of this spectrum.”

Well-organized, well-funded cyber adversaries “are becoming harder to detect, as they take advantage of the latest technologies to hide in the shadows,” said Cognyte Software CEO Elad Sharon on a call Monday for fiscal Q2 ended July 31. The company markets an “open analytics” security platform. There’s a growing volume and diversity of “structured and unstructured data” for bad actors to attack, said Sharon. Data is being “augmented and spread across organizational silos, making investigations more difficult,” he said. “Many customers recognize that homegrown solutions can no longer keep pace with these evolving security challenges.” Cybercriminals are attacking more frequently, with methods “becoming more and more sophisticated, making verifying bad actors much more difficult,” said the CEO.