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Millions of Instagram celebrities and influencers had their personal data leaked online

The database was left exposed and without a password allowing anyone to look inside

Newsroom May 22 10:38

A massive database hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Mumbai-based internet company Chtrbox that contained contact info for millions of Instagram accounts for influencers, celebrities and brands has been discovered leaked online.

The database, hosted by Amazon Web Services, was left exposed and without a password allowing anyone to look inside,” writes Zack Whittaker at TechCrunch.

At the time of his report, the database had over 49 million records, and was “growing by the hour.”

From TechCrunch 

From a brief review of the data, each record contained public data scraped from influencer Instagram accounts, including their bio, profile picture, the number of followers they have, if they’re verified and their location by city and country, but also contained their private contact information, such as the Instagram account owner’s email address and phone number.

Security researcher Anurag Sen discovered the database and alerted TechCrunch in an effort to find the owner and get the database secured. We traced the database back to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox, which pays influencers to post sponsored content on their accounts. Each record in the database contained a record that calculated the worth of each account, based off the number of followers, engagement, reach, likes and shares they had. This was used as a metric to determine how much the company could pay an Instagram celebrity or influencer to post an ad.

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TechCrunch found several high-profile influencers in the exposed database, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers.

We contacted several people at random whose information was found in the database and provided them their phone numbers. Two of the people responded and confirmed their email address and phone number found in the database was used to set up their Instagram accounts. Neither had any involvement with Chtrbox, they said.

Shortly after we reached out, Chtrbox pulled the database offline. Pranay Swarup, the company’s founder and chief executive, did not respond to a request for comment and several questions, including how the company obtained private Instagram account email addresses and phone numbers.

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