Cyber attack targets Instagram celebrities
Phone numbers and email addresses are stolen by online criminals

Hackers have gained access to the personal data of celebrities on Instagram by using a "flaw" in its security systems, the BBC reports.
The hack has revealed the phone numbers and email addresses of several public figures who use the service, according to the broadcaster. Passwords are not thought to have been stolen in the attack.
It's not known which accounts were affected by the hack, but the Daily Telegraph says "the breach emerged two days after Selena Gomez's Instagram was hacked and nude photos of her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber were posted to the actress's 125 million followers."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Gomez's account was briefly taken offline. It re-emerged "moments later with the photos removed", the newspaper reports.
Instagram said in a statement to Time: "We recently discovered that one or more individuals obtained unlawful access to a number of high-profile Instagram users' contact information, specifically email address and phone number, by exploiting a bug in an Instagram API".
The Facebook-owned social media site uses APIs (Application Programming Interface) to "communicate with other apps", says The Verge. It later fixed them to prevent a similar attack from happening again.
Instagram has notified its verified account members, who are mostly public figures, about the leak and is urging them to be "cautious" if they receive unrecognised phone calls, text messages, or emails.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The most notable records broken by Taylor Swift
In Depth The pop star has cemented herself as one of the century's most popular artists
-
Gripping political thrillers to stream now
The Week Recommends From power struggles to deadly conspiracies, these addictive shows are nail-bitingly tense
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advice
the explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Meta on trial: What will become of Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire?
Today's Big Question Despite the CEO's attempt to ingratiate himself with Trump, Meta is on trial, accused by the U.S. government of breaking antitrust law
-
What's Mark Zuckerberg's net worth?
In Depth The Meta magnate's products are a part of billions of lives
-
Instagram rolls out teen accounts with new limits
Speed Read After facing pushback over child safety, Meta announced that all users under 18 will have their Instagram accounts modified
-
Instagram hopes that blurring nudity in messages will make teens safer
The Explainer The option will be turned on by default for users under 18
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
-
Threads: will privacy fears scupper Meta’s Twitter ‘killer’?
Under the Radar Mark Zuckerberg’s new Threads app has launched but data protection rules mean it isn’t yet available in the EU
-
Meta to offer verified accounts on Facebook and Instagram
Speed Read
-
Instagram scales back short-form videos, recommended posts after negative feedback
Speed Read