Instagram Data Leak Exposes Approximately 17 Million User Records

BlockBeats News, January 11th, according to Engadget citing security firm Malwarebytes, Instagram experienced a data breach incident where sensitive information of about 17.5 million users was exposed, including usernames, emails, phone numbers, physical addresses, etc.

The related data has been put up for sale on the dark web, or used for phishing attacks and account takeovers. Malwarebytes stated that this incident may be linked to an API exposure issue on Instagram back in 2024. The affected users have been receiving frequent password reset emails recently. As of now, Meta has not released an official response. Security experts recommend users to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and change their passwords.