JOHANNESBURG- It has been reported that a bug, created by a hacker has caused major security issues for 6 Million Instagram users.
Personal information such as their cell phone number, personal email address etc have been exposed.
The data was stolen by hackers who were selling searches of the exposed data for $10, The Daily Beast's Joseph Cox reported.
The as-yet unidentified hackers were selling searches of the data using a dedicated site, called Doxagram.
6 Million Celebrity/High-Profile contact info's at doxagram.su 😎
— DoxAGram (@doxagram_insta) September 4, 2017
Our service to get contact info is only $10, you need to use https://t.co/XhXS8sEzSt or cex.io, it is only $10. Coinbase only charge you $10
— DoxAGram (@doxagram_insta) September 3, 2017
In a blog post, Instagram CTO Mike Krieger confirmed the bug exposed users' details, and said Instagram is working with law enforcement.
" 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".
" Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage you to be vigilant about the security of your account, and exercise caution if you observe any suspicious activity such as unrecognised incoming calls, texts, or emails. Additionally, we’re encouraging you to report any unusual activity through our reporting tools. You can access those tools by tapping the “…” menu from your profile, selecting “Report a Problem” and then “Spam or Abuse", Mike Krieger Co-Founder & CTO.