A massive data leak has occurred on Instagram — information about 17.5 million users has fallen into the dark web. This was reported by the cybersecurity company Malwarebytes.
Photo: freepik.com
Although passwords are not present in the stolen database, hackers obtained a large volume of personal data. This includes usernames and real names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other profile data.
The main threat is that even without passwords, such information is very valuable to fraudsters. An increase in targeted phishing is already being observed: people are massively receiving emails, messages, and calls, seemingly from customer support, demanding they urgently change their password, confirm their account, or click a link for "data protection".
In reality, this is a scam: the links lead to fake pages where users themselves hand over their real passwords and two-factor authentication codes to attackers.
To protect themselves, experts advise against clicking suspicious links, checking if two-factor authentication is enabled, and being cautious about calls and SMS. It's also important to warn relatives and colleagues — in modern conditions, cyber hygiene is of particular importance.
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