GEC NEWS WIREThe photo sharing social media, Instagram, was hit by a malicious bug which is responsible for accessing millions of user accounts. The company first said that the hack was limited to only the verified accounts but later confirmed that non-verified accounts had also been affected. While Instagram did not confirm the number of accounts hacked, it said that a “low percentage of Instagram accounts” had been affected. However, the hackers said that they have data for 6 million users.
Mike Krieger, Co-Founder & CTO, Instagram clarified via a blog that the hackers had not accessed the passwords for any of the affected accounts. “We care deeply about the safety and security of the Instagram community, so we want to let you know that we recently discovered a bug on Instagram that could be used to access some people’s email address and phone number even if they were not public. No passwords or other Instagram activity was revealed. We quickly fixed the bug, and have been working with law enforcement on the matter. Although we cannot determine which specific accounts may have been impacted, we believe it was a low percentage of Instagram accounts” added Mike.
Several celebrities including athletes, actors and musicians have also been affected by the hack. Hours after the hack came to light, the hackers established a searchable database called Doxagram which could allow users to search for contact information of affected accounts for USD 10 per search. The hackers also provided a list of 1,000 accounts that were available on Doxagram which included most of the 50 most-followed accounts on the platform.
