Privacy is crucial in today’s digital world, yet social media platforms like Instagram are frequently caught in the middle of privacy scandals, including data breaches. In recent years, Instagram has come under scrutiny as user data has surfaced in online databases linked to third-party companies. This article explores why these breaches happen and what they mean for you as an Instagram user.
How Do Instagram Data Breaches Occur?
Instagram data breaches typically happen when companies storing Instagram users’ private information fail to implement robust security measures. Hackers then exploit these vulnerabilities to access personal data for malicious purposes.
One common tactic involves exploiting poorly designed third-party software applications, which provide easy entry points for hackers. Malware is also often used to infiltrate databases. For instance, a hacker might send a seemingly harmless email with a link that, when clicked, installs malware and grants unauthorized access to a database.
A surprisingly frequent cause of Instagram breaches is weak or absent passwords securing the databases. It’s important to note that Instagram itself isn’t directly responsible for these breaches; they usually occur through third-party companies that engage in a practice called web scraping.
The Problem of Web Scraping
Web scraping is an automated technique used to gather vast amounts of data, often by scraping content from websites, including social media platforms like Instagram. While web scraping is legal, Instagram’s terms of service strictly prohibit it to protect user privacy. However, distinguishing scraping bots from legitimate users can be difficult, so scraping often goes unnoticed until it’s too late.
Here are a few examples of how web scraping has led to Instagram data breaches:
Chtrbox
Chtrbox, an influencer marketing company based in Mumbai, India, used Amazon Web Services (AWS) to store its database, which contained sensitive data on influencers. In May 2020, a security researcher discovered that this AWS database was left online without a password for 72 hours before it was taken offline. This oversight exposed the private information of at least 49 million Instagram users, though Chtrbox claimed only 350,000 were affected.
Deep Social
Deep Social, an influencer marketing company that utilized web scraping to collect data on Instagram users, was banned by Facebook and Instagram from accessing their APIs. Despite this, the company’s scraped data eventually ended up in an unprotected online database. The data, which included personal details like names, emails, phone numbers, and Instagram follower counts, was exposed for millions of social media profiles.
Social Captain
Social Captain is a bot designed to automate various tasks on Instagram, such as liking posts, following users, and commenting on photos. While the platform did have a password-protected database, it was possible to bypass the login screen easily by using a user’s unique ID in the URL. Additionally, Social Captain stored user login details in plain text, meaning that anyone who accessed the source code of a profile page could easily view a user’s Instagram credentials. This vulnerability allowed hackers to gather login information from many users quickly, especially since user IDs were sequential.
Instagram data breaches highlight the importance of strong security measures and the risks of sharing personal information with third-party companies. As web scraping and other malicious practices continue to threaten user privacy, it’s essential for consumers to stay informed and take necessary precautions to protect their data.