2 min read

Database of 49 Million Instagram Influencers Leaked Online

Luana PASCU

May 22, 2019

Promo Protect all your devices, without slowing them down.
Free 30-day trial
Database of 49 Million Instagram Influencers Leaked Online

Facebook is investigating a major data breach that leaked personal information of 49 million Instagram users, writes TechCrunch after it received and analyzed the data from security researcher Anurag Sen.

The unsecured database, hosted by Amazon Web Services, contained personally identifiable information such as email addresses and phone numbers, as well as user location, number of followers, profile picture and description, likes and shares. TechCrunch traced it back to a social media company based in India named Chtrbox.

What”s more, because Chtrbox helps companies grow their audience by connecting them with influencers for paid posts, many accounts leaked belong to famous influencers, brands, food bloggers and celebrities, TechCrunch writes.

Even though the company conducts its business in India, it held data of users from other countries, which could lead to issues with international data privacy regulations, such as GDPR in the case of EU residents.

In a public statement on its website, Chtrbox writes “the reports are inaccurate” because they never had more than 350,000 influencers.

“This particular database of limited influencers was inadvertently left unsecured for approximately 72 hours,” it further states. “As soon as we discovered the database vulnerability, we took immediate corrective action to secure the limited exposure.”

 “We”re looking into the issue to understand if the data described – including email and phone numbers – was from Instagram or from other sources,” reads a statement from Facebook. “We”re also inquiring with Chtrbox to understand where this data came from and how it became publicly available.”

If you are a content creator, your channel is your business and protecting it from hackers is essential. Bitdefender Security for Creators offers advanced hacking protection to safeguard your login credentials and personal data, ensuring you stay in control. It includes email phishing protection to guard you from fake sponsored offers, along with real-time monitoring of your YouTube channel that detects unauthorized access and suspicious activity. Don’t lose access to your account and your livelihood—stay protected 24/7 with a solution specially built to keep creators safe from cyber threats.

tags


Author


Luana PASCU

After having addressed topics such as NFC, startups, and tech innovation, she has now shifted focus to internet security, with a keen interest in smart homes and IoT threats.

View all posts

You might also like

Bookmarks


loader