Instagram (META) has clarified that its systems were not compromised after numerous users received unsolicited password reset emails. The company addressed an external issue that allowed these messages to be triggered but assured that no internal data was breached, maintaining that user accounts are secure.
In contrast, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes reported that the emails may be associated with the sale of data from 17.5 million Instagram accounts on a hacker forum. They suggested the data breach could have originated from a leak in 2024, although some researchers believe the dataset consists of older information scraped from public profiles as far back as 2022.
Users are advised to be cautious, avoiding links in unsolicited emails and to change their passwords directly through the app or official website, ideally enabling two-factor authentication for added security. As of Tuesday, Meta shares closed at $631.09, down 1.69%, but were trading higher in after-hours at $642.74, up 1.85%.
