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Did an Instagram data breach expose 17 million accounts worldwide? Meta says 'accounts remain secure'
In a statement to HT.com, a Meta spokesperson denied that a data breach had occurred.
Last week, several Instagram users reported receiving unexpected password reset emails, sparking concerns of a possible data breach. On Friday, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes claimed the activity was linked to a breach in which data associated with 17.5 million Instagram users worldwide had been exposed.
According to Malwarebytes, the allegedly leaked information included usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
"Cybercriminals stole the sensitive information of 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more," Malwarebytes claimed. "This data is available for sale on the dark web and can be abused by cybercriminals."
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Amid the claims, several Instagram users took to social media to share their experiences.
One person wrote on X, "I’ve been getting meta emails about changing my password the last like 2 weeks."
Another said, "I got the email that mine was accessed last night. Immediate changed my password."
A third person added, "Can confirm, got 2 password resets and checked to see my stuff on the data breach, change your passwords."
Another user claimed, "Yup I just got and email from a phishing account saying my password was trying to be reset. This is a scam email! But they got my email from the data leak."
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Meta responds
In a statement to HT.com, a Meta spokesperson denied that a data breach had occurred.
"We fixed an issue that allowed an external party to request password reset emails for some Instagram users. We want to reassure everyone there was no breach of our systems and people’s Instagram accounts remain secure. People can disregard these emails and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused," the Meta spokesperson said.
