Despite the fact that initially the company thought that only some accounts of “high-profile users” were affected, later on it has discovered that an unspecified number of email addresses and phone numbers were stolen, due to attackers exploiting a bug in the Instagram API.
RepKnight, a British cybersecurity company, has reported that email addresses and phone numbers associated with hacked Instagram accounts, including for 500 celebrities, are now being offered for sale on darknet sites, according to BankinfoSecurity.
Instagram first sounded an alert over the API hack on the September 5, in a message to all verified users. The warning said that cybercriminals obtained unlawful access to a number of high-profile Instagram users’ accounts and urged them to secure their account by enabling two-factor authentication and by picking a strong, unique password. Meanwhile, Instagram has apologized for the breach.
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