Instagram Is Making a Major Move to Stop Hackers From Selling Your Data

Facebook and Instagram are making some much-needed advances in security protocols after a hack released the contact information of over six million Instagram users including Drake, Christiano Ronaldo and the official POTUS Instagram.

How was this possible? Essentially, the hacker(s) created a searchable database titled "Doxagram" and allowed users on the site to pay $10 for each search. Instagram initially claimed that only verified accounts had been compromised, however they later admitted that non-verified users’ information had also been hacked.

After the host deleted Doxagram’s original site, Facebook and Instagram clapped back and began registering hundreds of different Doxagram domains in an effort to boot the site offline. According to records released by Passive Total, Instagram bought domains like Doxagram.lol and Doxagram.sexy and about 240 other hosts you sadly didn't know existed. The original web address has been offline since Friday, Sept. 1.

One of the hackers affiliated with the heist told the Daily Beast, “Apparently Facebook complained about us selling ‘stolen’ information.” And while Instagram is booting Doxagram off unknown Internet domains, the hacker site has already moved its operations to the dark web, where a slew of illegal dealings take place through a software that hides the identities of many of its users.

Instagram's Chief Technical Officer Mike Krieger told users in a blog post that “We encourage people to be vigilant about the security of their account and exercise caution if they encounter any suspicious activity such as unrecognized incoming calls, texts and emails.” In total, Doxogram’s owners boasted of making the whopping sum of $4,100.