The cybersecurity company Malwarebytes has revealed a data leak affecting nearly 17 million users of the social media platform Instagram. This breach could expose the affected individuals to fraudulent emails aimed at hacking their accounts.
The company, which specializes in cybersecurity, announced that hackers have published usernames, home and email addresses, phone numbers, and other personal data of the social media site’s users on the dark web.
A hacking group known as Shiny Hunters had previously breached the “Salesforce” platform, a widely used American software platform for customer service and sales. This incident prompted the web security team at Malwarebytes to focus its attention on the group.
In January, Malwarebytes also reported that its researchers discovered a method for creating fake Google emails that bypass spam filters with the aim of stealing login credentials for the Microsoft 365 platform.
The company explained that the scammers send “highly convincing” fake messages. These emails not only pass through “several trusted Google services” but also redirect the unsuspecting recipient to “a fake Microsoft 365 login page designed to steal usernames and passwords.”
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is a cybersecurity company founded in 2008, known for developing anti-malware software for consumers and businesses. Its history is rooted in combating aggressive “rogue” anti-malware programs, and it has grown into a major provider of threat detection and remediation solutions.
Instagram
Instagram is a social media platform founded in 2010, initially focused on sharing photos and videos with filters. It has since evolved into a major cultural site for visual communication, influencer marketing, and global trends, significantly impacting digital culture and social interaction.
dark web
The dark web is a hidden portion of the internet that requires specific software to access, known for providing anonymity to its users. It emerged from military research in the 1990s, notably the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s development of The Onion Router (Tor), which was designed to protect government communications. While it has legitimate uses for privacy and whistleblowing, it has also become infamous for hosting illicit marketplaces and criminal activity.
Shiny Hunters
“Shiny Hunters” is not a physical place or cultural site, but the name of a notorious cybercriminal group known for stealing and selling large datasets from corporate victims. The group, believed to have emerged around 2020, gained significant notoriety for breaching companies and leaking sensitive information on hacker forums.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a major cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, known for its customer relationship management (CRM) platform. The company was founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff and pioneered the concept of delivering enterprise software via the internet. Its iconic headquarters, the Salesforce Tower, is the tallest building in San Francisco and a symbol of the city’s modern tech industry.
Google
Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. It began as a search engine project and has since grown into one of the world’s most influential tech giants, offering a vast ecosystem of products and services that shape global information access and digital communication.
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based suite of productivity software and cloud services launched by Microsoft in 2011, evolving from the earlier “Office 365” brand. It includes applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook, combined with cloud storage and collaboration tools, representing Microsoft’s shift toward cloud computing and software-as-a-service.
