Meta has finally put a number on how many Instagram accounts were breached after hackers tricked its AI-powered support chatbot into helping them take over accounts. The social media company filed a data breach notice with Maine’s attorney general’s office on Friday, stating that 20,225 people were affected. According to the filing, the breach began on April 17 and was discovered on May 31. Several outlets reported last week that hackers were able to convince Meta’s AI support chatbot to link email addresses they controlled to Instagram accounts they did not own. That allowed the hackers to reset passwords and take over the accounts. 404 Media reported that the attacks coincided with the hacking of a number of high-profile Instagram account, including the Barack Obama White House account, the account of the Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Space Force, and the account the makeup company Sephora.
The breaches come amid growing concern that AI could make cyberattacks faster and easier. Google recently said hackers used AI to help discover a zero-day vulnerability, the Pentagon is reportedly exploring weaponizing cyber-capable AI models, and researchers have warned that AI-powered worms could spread with little human involvement. But the Instagram attacks show the risk can be much simpler.
