It is possible that the hackers wanted to abuse the channels with the most followers for some kind of stunt-just this past week we’ve already seen one such hack. According to reports, only high profile users were targeted.
In response to the API exploit, Instagram did not confirm the number or specific accounts that were affected. Currently, they are charging US $10 per search. On August 31, it was reported that the hackers actually collected the stolen information and created a searchable database dubbed “Doxagram”. Instagram confirmed that the hackers managed to obtain email addresses and phone numbers of some prominent users by exploiting a bug in the app’s API. High profile users of the popular social media platform Instagram were alerted late August after the company discovered that hackers had gained access to specific users’ contact information.
