Instagram has been affected by a bug which helped hackers to steal phone numbers and Email addresses of high-profile verified users.
Instagram has been affected by a bug which helped hackers to steal phone numbers and Email addresses of high-profile verified users. Now hackers have uploaded the stolen information into a searchable database ‘dubbed Doxagram’ where they are being sold for $10 per search. The Facebook-owned photo sharing service has currently mentioned that the criminals have exploited a software bug on Wednesday that permitted them to access the accounts of an undefined number of "high-profile" users, including email and their phone numbers. The defect resides in Instagram's application programming interface (API), which the service uses to communicate with other apps. There weren't any details about the Instagram's API defect was not revealed by the company. The Email addresses and phone numbers of those affected users can be obtained by the hackers, but not their passwords. The software bug was fixed, and the investigation process is on to find out what happened. Instagram has confirmed the breach and said that "The high-profile users were targeted at this point so, out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying all our verified account holders of this issue," an Instagram spokesperson told Fortune in a statement. Entertainment business publication Variety reported this week that an unknown hacker hijacked Selena Gomez Instagram account, and the account was shut down when hackers posted nude photos of her ex-boyfriend Canadian singer Justin Bieber on Instagram. Eventually, Selena's account with over 125 million followers was recovered after the photos were removed. A company notified email was sent to all verified users who were affected and warned them to be cautious if they receive any suspicious or unrecognized phone calls, text messages, or emails. TIPS
- Use two-factor authentication
- Use strong password and change it frequently
- Don't click on any suspicious mail or attachments received via email.