“Size and sophistication” of online attacks “has risen dramatically” with the pandemic’s spike in internet traffic, said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton on a Tuesday investor call: “Threat actors” are taking advantage of the “distraction and vulnerabilities created by employees working remotely.” Malware reports to Akamai jumped nearly fivefold in Q2 from the previous quarter, he said. Nearly half the content on a typical website “originates from third parties,” estimated Leighton. “Attackers are embedding malware in this content to steal users’ credit cards and other personal data.” Theft of login credentials “is another growing problem,” he said. “We blocked more than 53 billion credential abuse attempts last quarter, more than four times the number we saw in Q2 of last year.” Demand for the company's media and security services “more than offset” revenue downturns from the travel and hotel industries and other sectors “hit hardest by the pandemic,” said Leighton: Churn “stayed below 1% of annualized revenue.” Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan estimated Akamai took a $14 million Q2 hit from COVID-19, mainly through “contract restructurings and elevated bad debt reserves.” A 13% revenue gain and 29% profit increase reflected a “continuation of the high traffic levels” on the internet since the onset of the pandemic, said Leighton. Peak traffic exceeded 100 terabits daily, he said. “That’s a lot of traffic.”

COVID-19 has been a mixed bag for Spotify. Monthly active users in Q2 grew 29% year on year to 299 million, at the top end of guidance, said Wednesday's shareholder letter. Ad revenue fell to $154 million from $194 million. Revenue rose to $2.22 billion vs. $2.17 billion. Quarter to date through May, ad-supported sales fell 25% vs. 2019, said CEO Daniel Ek on a call: “Big declines” were due to the COVID-19 pandemic but improved to 12% lower in June. Pandemic-related softness in April and May, including payment failures by Premium users in Latin America and emerging regions, were offset by strength in North America and other areas. Struggling regions rebounded in June, with increased reactivations and slower churn. Overall listening hours in June returned to previous levels, Spotify said. Consumption trends by platform “are beginning to normalize,” with in-car listening at the end of Q2 less than 10% below pre-COVID-19 levels; they sank as far as 50% year on year in April. Spotify stock has jumped about 70% since the company signed comedian Joe Rogan to an exclusive podcast deal in mid-May, noted Pivotal Research Group's Jeffrey Wlodarczak in a Wednesday investor note. The analyst attributed the spike to “hope that Spotify can eventually become” like Netflix with “exclusive podcast content helping to drive higher subscriber growth, lower subscriber churn, increased engagement, greater ability to move consumers from the free funnel to premium and eventually reverse negative ARPU [average revenue per user] trends.”

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is considering permanently revising international traffic in arms regulations so industry employees involved in ITAR can work remotely, said Wednesday's Federal Register. DDTC said, due to industry requests, it will extend through this year temporary telework measures, which had been set to expire July 31. The agency will use that time to “fully investigate the possibility and ramifications of making this modification, or a variation thereof, a permanent revision,” and may seek comments. DDTC said the extension will “provide regulated entities with staffing flexibilities” during the pandemic and it seems "regulated entities will continue to engage in social distancing measures for the foreseeable future.”

Increased "working and schooling from home" due to COVID-19 resulted in a strong PC market in Q2, said Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su on a Tuesday investor call. Desktop processor sales declined sequentially, but AMD had record quarterly unit shipments and revenue in laptop processors. AMD 90 days ago expected COVID-19-related weakness to bring the PC market down in the second half, she said: It’s now expecting PC processor sales will grow. The pandemic increased the “overall” PC market and stimulated a “strong shift from desktop to notebooks,” she said. “The second half will continue to be good for notebooks and PCs overall and that's part of this idea that PCs are now essential.” The stock closed 12.5% higher Wednesday at $76.09.

Imax plans to have 1,400 screens in 70 markets open by August for Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Tenet, said CEO Rich Gelfond Tuesday on a Q2 call. After three delays due to COVID-19, Warner Bros. said also Tuesday the movie will release in Canada, Europe and Asia Aug. 26 and in limited U.S. theaters Sept. 3. “The rising infection rate in the U.S. and other markets stands in stark contrast to the opening of large international markets, where we derive over 70% of our revenue,” said Gelfond: “The U.S. presents a unique challenge for industry that is accustomed to global releases.” Staggered releases by country are “the next best thing,” he said. “We should expect some temporary setbacks in some markets.” In July, some 624 Imax screens were open, 40% of the company’s global 1,500-theater network; 10% of North America’s 400 Imax theaters are open, primarily in Canada. Masks are “absolutely critical” in theaters, said Gelfond. Social distancing capacity constraints and traffic flow can be managed effectively, show times can be staggered and food prep can be visible or food can be prepackaged, he said. Gelfond predicts the market will move toward premium experiences and blockbusters. On Imax's concern about narrowing theatrical windows -- after AMC's and Universal’s announcement Tuesday giving AMC 17 days of theatrical exclusivity for releases before going to premium VOD -- Gelfond said he sees little impact. With AMC potentially sharing in streaming revenue, “we have to wait to hear what other exhibitors say, what that means,” said Gelfond. Noting Universal doesn’t have a big movie coming out in North America until 2021, “we all have to take a breath,” said the executive. Imax revenue plunged 92% year on year in Q2 to $8.9 million. Shares closed down 10.7% Wednesday at $11.22.

Lattice Semiconductor’s consumer business sales declined 17% from Q1 and 43% from the year-ago Q2, said CEO Jim Anderson on a Tuesday evening investor call. Lattice supplies processors for smart home devices and other consumer tech products. “The decline reflects a full quarter of COVID-19 demand impact as well as the expected shift in the mix of our revenue profile over time,” said Anderson. “We remain focused on serving the areas of the consumer market that include applications with consistent multiyear revenue streams and higher margins, where our solutions are enabling customers to differentiate their products.”

COVID-19 is a good reason to extend Lifeline waivers for recertification, reverification, non-usage and income documentation rules until Dec. 31, TracFone told the FCC. The wireless eligible telecom carrier supports the National Lifeline Association’s July 8 petition, said the letter posted Tuesday in docket 11-42. The company said the FCC should temporarily freeze minimum service standards for mobile broadband service at 3 GB, and the mobile voice-only subsidy at $7.25 monthly.

Semiconductor supplier Amkor Technology experienced strong Q2 demand in its communications and consumer “end markets,” driving 31% revenue growth year over year, said CEO Giel Rutten on a Monday investors call. Though global smartphone unit shipments are expected to decline in 2020, Amkor had first-half growth in its 4G products, plus “a steady ramp” of its 5G components, including its RF, front-end, modem, sensor and artificial intelligence products, he said. Computing grew 13% sequentially and year over year, exceeding expectations in “all applications,” including PCs and laptops, he said. “While the semiconductor supply chain has responded very well to the coronavirus challenges, we are still dealing with an environment of dynamic forecast changes as customers try to balance limited visibility with inventory levels."

Incompas’ show scheduled for Sept. 14-16 in Las Vegas will be virtual. “As much as we all had hoped to be able to meet in person this September … the well-being of our attendees and exhibitors takes precedence," said CEO Chip Pickering. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, we will be moving to an all-virtual 2020 INCOMPAS Show.” Earlier Tuesday, CTA did the same with CES 2021 (see 2007280034). Our news bulletin is here. (It's in front of the pay wall, like some other coronavirus coverage.)

Combined proposals Senate Republicans released Monday for the next major COVID-19 aid legislative package have few telecom and tech provisions. A proposal from Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., includes $1 billion for the FCC to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. HR-4998 provides funding to help U.S. communications providers remove Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security (see 2003040056). Shelby’s HR-4998 funding is the same as what the House Appropriations Committee allocated in its FY 2021 FCC funding bill (see 2007080064). The FCC earlier sought $2 billion to implement HR-4998 (see 2003230066). Shelby wants $175 million in emergency funding to CPB for “stabilization grants to maintain programming services and to preserve small and rural public" stations. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., filed the Restoring Critical Supply Chains and Intellectual Property Act with language from the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. HR-7178/S-3933 would allocate funding to match state and local incentives and direct the Commerce Department to establish a grant program. The bill’s text is included in both versions of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395/S-4049). House Democrats had more tech and telecom language in their Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800), including broadband funding (see 2005130059).