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No, Facebook and Instagram's blackout wasn't a cyberattack

Photo: Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Not everything is a cyberattack. Facebook fended off rumors that an outage of its products Wednesday night, including Facebook and Instagram, was the result of a DDoS attack.

Meanwhile: Telegram reports gaining 3 million users during the brief outages of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

NetScout issued a press release claiming the outage was a BGP leak, but after experts (including, apparently, the NetScout employee quoted in the press release) said that wasn't the case, NetScout walked back the certainty of its claims.

What they're saying:

  • "Absent more forensic evidence, we can't speculate about the cause of that specific outage," NetScout said via email.
  • "Yesterday, as a result of a server configuration change, many people had trouble accessing our apps and services. We've now resolved the issues and our systems are recovering," Facebook said via Twitter on Thursday.

Go deeper: Facebook’s pivot to encrypted messaging is bigger than privacy

Go deeper

Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
8 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden to attempt "emergency economic relief" by executive order

President Biden. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Biden will continue his executive action blitz on Friday, issuing two more orders in an attempt to provide immediate relief to struggling families without waiting for Congress.

Why it matters: In his second full day in office, Biden is again resorting to executive actions as he tries to increase payments for nutritional assistance and protect workers' rights during the pandemic.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Joann Muller, author of Navigate
9 mins ago - Economy & Business

What Biden's EV push could mean for jobs

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Biden's swift effort to re-establish stricter fuel efficiency mandates, along with his broader push toward vehicle electrification, is as much about creating new jobs as it is protecting the environment.

Why it matters: The U.S. lags far behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle adoption. Catching up will require big investments in EV production — including battery cell manufacturing and mining of raw materials — to avoid dependence on imports and foreign supply chains.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
8 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kellyanne Conway's parting power pointers

Kellyanne Conway addresses the 2020 Republican National Convention. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Kellyanne Conway has seen power exercised as a pollster, campaign manager and senior counselor to President Trump. Now that his term in office has concluded, she shared her thoughts with Axios.

Why it matters: If there's a currency in this town, it's power, so we've asked several former Washington power brokers to share their best advice as a new administration and new Congress settle in.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow