What the Tech: Cybersecurity expert talks Facebook, Instagram outage
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Many s experienced issues accessing popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday.
s reported being logged out of their s and unable to log back in, while Instagram feeds wouldn’t refresh.
Facebook s who checked the website “Downdetector.com” to report the incident and look for explanations also saw that other online services such as Google, YouTube, Gmail, TikTok, Snapchat, and others were experiencing some type of network trouble.
The outage caused a stir online, with “Facebook” and “cyber attack” trending on X. Some s speculated whether the outage was a deliberate attack, similar to the events depicted in the Netflix movie “Leave the World Behind.”
However, cybersecurity expert and co-host of the podcast “What the Hack with Adam Levin”, Travis Taylor advises against panic.
He points out that the internet’s design allows it to withstand even extreme events like a nuclear attack.
“That was the whole point of it in the 70s,” Taylor said. “They wanted a redundant system that would allow universities and government agencies to maintain communications even if there were mushroom clouds off in the distance.”
The recent outage, Taylor explains, is more likely due to consolidation within the tech industry.
Many websites and services rely on the same infrastructure to stay online.
“That means if you take out one service it could be a pretty big chunk of the internet. But taking out the entire internet is extremely unlikely,” Taylor said.
Taylor also downplays the possibility of an apocalyptic internet shutdown, something similar to “Leave the World Behind”.
Even in the unlikely event it would happen, he emphasizes the internet’s inherent resilience, highlighting that past outages, like the one in 2021 that lasted over seven hours, were eventually resolved.
“The internet and internet-based services are both very resilient and also very vulnerable. Resilient in the long term and vulnerable in the short term,” Taylor said.
The recent outage serves as a reminder of our dependence on internet-based services, but it also highlights the network’s inherent strengths.
While short-term disruptions can occur, experts assure us that a complete internet collapse is highly unlikely.
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