Instagram has announced that it is investigating the reports of user accounts being hacked. Over the past week or so, a number of users have reported having their accounts hacked. Hackers are reportedly gaining access to their account and then changing their email address, and/or phone number. Instagram stated that “We are investigating claims of some hacked Instagram accounts and will take the necessary steps to help those impacted” so that those that are impacted by this hacking should be taken care of shortly.
These hacking attempts seem to share some common things. Hackers are changing email addresses and/or phone number, which is used to gain access to the account. Essentially meaning that the rightful user can no longer access their account. Hackers are also changing the username and image on the account. The hackers are not posting any pictures or videos on these accounts, so it’s a bit strange, but they are basically being locked out. One of the users affected, took to Reddit to note that he was using two-factor authentication, but that did not keep his account from being hacked. Typically, that is what many security experts would say to do, to protect you and your account from getting hacked. But that doesn’t seem to be working here.
Initially, Instagram said that it had not seen an uptick in reports of hacked accounts. But after some reports were published in the media, Instagram decided to backtrack and look into the issue. If you haven’t been hacked yet, you’ll want to keep an eye on your account so that you will know when you have been hacked. Unfortunately, changing your password or enabling two-factor authentication doesn’t seem to be working against this hack, which is unfortunate, and it means you won’t be able to do much to protect yourself.