A recent report revealed that Instagram suffered a massive data leak affecting approximately 17.5 million usersafter a huge database was found for sale on the so-called "dark web." According to cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes, the leaked data includes user names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could be exploited in scams and cyberattacks.
The leak is believed to be linked to a previous vulnerability in the application programming interface (API) dating back to 2024. Meta, the owner of Instagram, has not yet issued any official statement regarding this leak. The report noted that many users received messages to reset their passwords, which may be an indication of attempts to exploit the leaked data.
This leak is one of the biggest security incidents affecting Instagram users, as this information can be used to send phishing messages, target personal accounts, or carry out fraud attacks. The availability of the data on the dark web makes it more difficult to control the fallout, and makes it necessary for users to change their passwords, enable two-step verification, and monitor any suspicious activity on their accounts.