An unsecured database was reported found online containing the private contact information including data like phone numbers and email addresses for celebrities, influencers and brand accounts.
The database contained almost 49 Million Instagram influencers information.
It was hosted on Amazon Web service and left without any password protection on the data.
In some cases, it had accounts details like the location of accounts, owner's email addresses and phone number of followers.
Further digging revealed it also had data that was not publically available like estimated worth of the account, based on followers, engagement and reach and phone numbers.
Security researcher Anurag Sen found the database.
According to TechCrunch, a Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox exposed the personal data of millions of Instagram influencers, including those not affiliated with the organisation.
Chtrbox didn't respond to any comments request on the situation, and also the database was removed when TechCrunch contacted.
It is unknown how long the information remained online before Anurag Sen's discovery.
The database contained the value of Instagram Influencers accounts, supposedly calculated by Chtrbox considering the follower's count, total shares, likes, and other metrics.
This data can help the marketing company calculate how much to pay to Influencers for advertising the sponsored product.
Instagrams parent company, Facebook, said that they are looking into this problem to understand if the information reported, including email phone numbers and the location was from Instagram or not.
They are also questioning Chtrbox how this data became public and where it came from in the first place.
In 2017, Instagram faced a comparable issue when hackers tried to sell celebrity data scraped from Instagram.
Read next: WhatsApp Is Not as Safe as We Think – Founder of Telegram Says
The database contained almost 49 Million Instagram influencers information.
It was hosted on Amazon Web service and left without any password protection on the data.
In some cases, it had accounts details like the location of accounts, owner's email addresses and phone number of followers.
Further digging revealed it also had data that was not publically available like estimated worth of the account, based on followers, engagement and reach and phone numbers.
Security researcher Anurag Sen found the database.
According to TechCrunch, a Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox exposed the personal data of millions of Instagram influencers, including those not affiliated with the organisation.
Chtrbox didn't respond to any comments request on the situation, and also the database was removed when TechCrunch contacted.
It is unknown how long the information remained online before Anurag Sen's discovery.
The database contained the value of Instagram Influencers accounts, supposedly calculated by Chtrbox considering the follower's count, total shares, likes, and other metrics.
This data can help the marketing company calculate how much to pay to Influencers for advertising the sponsored product.
Instagrams parent company, Facebook, said that they are looking into this problem to understand if the information reported, including email phone numbers and the location was from Instagram or not.
They are also questioning Chtrbox how this data became public and where it came from in the first place.
In 2017, Instagram faced a comparable issue when hackers tried to sell celebrity data scraped from Instagram.
Read next: WhatsApp Is Not as Safe as We Think – Founder of Telegram Says
