X

Instagram users' accounts reportedly being hijacked in spreading hack

People are being logged out and their personal details are being changed, says a report.

Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
Expertise Culture, Video Games, Breaking News
Sean Keane
2 min read
Mobile Technology Applications

A large number of Instagram users are reportedly being hacked in similar ways.

NurPhoto

Increasing numbers of people are reportedly experiencing the same Instagram hack, which logs them out and changes their personal details.

Hundreds of people have reported being hacked since the beginning of August, according to Mashable, which highlighted similarities between the attacks.

Victims say they're being logged out, their handles and profile avatars are changed (often to a Disney or Pixar character) and their bios are deleted, reported Mashable. When they try to reset their password, they find that the account has been linked to a new .ru email address -- a Russian domain.

Most of the people who spoke to Mashable didn't have two-factor authentication enabled, but one person said it was disabled and his account was hacked.

Watch this: What is Instagram's IGTV?

The hackers don't appear to be posting photos or removing old photos, but the altered personal details make it difficult for victims to regain control of their accounts. Instagram's automated message would go to the new email address.

A stream of tweets complaining about hacks and Instagram's support were sent to the photo-sharing site on Tuesday.

Instagram says it works hard to provide a safe and secure experience for its community.

"When we become aware of an account that has been compromised, we shut off access to the account and the people who've been affected are put through a remediation process so they can reset their password and take other necessary steps to secure their accounts," said an Instagram spokesperson.

This isn't the first time locked-out Instagram users have flocked to Twitter. That also happened in July when Instagram went down for everyone.

First published Aug. 14 at 5:35 a.m. PT.
Update at 10:10 a.m. PT: Added comment from Instagram.

Fight the Power: Take a look at who's transforming the way we think about energy.

'Hello, humans': Google's Duplex could make Assistant the most lifelike AI yet.