Instagram Leaks: A Bug Allowed Hackers To Access Personal Information On ‘High Profile’ Accounts
Instagram discovered that a bug in their application’s programming interface was to blame for the latest hacking reports. The hackers were able to take advantage of the bug, and they used this opportunity to gain access to personal information from several high-profile accounts.
According to Time, a spokesperson from Instagram said that one or more individuals were able to obtain unlawful access to contact information from several high-profile Instagram users by exploiting the bug in the application. The spokesperson also verified that the hackers were able to access phone numbers and email addresses.
The bug that was found in the Instagram API allowed the hackers to use a glitch to access a set of codes that apparently contained the phone numbers and email addresses of the accounts. The team from Instagram also added that no passwords were compromised and the company has already dealt with the situation swiftly and that they are already running a thorough investigation.
It was clear to the team at Instagram that the hackers were targeting high-profile accounts on purpose, which is why they made it clear that their main concern now is the safety of their community. As a precaution, they have already reached out to all other verified accounts.
The spokesperson also mentioned in the report on Time that “As always, we encourage people to be vigilant about the security of their account and exercise caution if they encounter any suspicious activity such as unrecognized incoming calls, texts, and email.”
The news about the glitch came about after Selena Gomez’s Instagram account was hacked with naked photos of ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. The post was immediately caught by the singer’s team and immediately removed. Her account was suspended but it was eventually re-opened after the issue was resolved.
With about 125 million followers, Selena is the most-followed person on Instagram so the hacking incident was definitely alarming.
The hackers included their own Instagram handles on the post but according to the Daily Mail, they were clearly troll accounts since they barely contained any photos.
[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
