Millions of Instagram users hit by major hack attack

Millions of Instagram users have been warned that their personal data – including mobile numbers and email addresses – could have been compromised during last week’s hack attack which saw several A-list celebrities’ accounts breached.
Following the hack, Instagram said it believed “one or more” individuals had gained access to “a number of” stars’ details by exploiting a bug in the app’s software.
The company quickly fixed the bug – but not before hackers began advertising users’ private information on the dark web.
One hacker claims to have accessed 6 million Instagram accounts and says that “Facebook/Instagram has not yet fully understood the full scope of the exploit”.
On Saturday Instagram issued a new statement confirming that the hack may have affected non-verified accounts. “Although we cannot determine which specific accounts may have been impacted, we believe it was a low percentage of Instagram accounts,” a spokesman told Mashable.
The social media company said they thought a “low percentage” of their 700 million monthly active users could have been affected – potentially several million accounts.
Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger said: “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.”