Instagram Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (INS1768202882)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the Instagram breach identified under incident ID INS1768202882.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of Instagram's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/instagram, the number of followers: 1398977, the industry type: Software Development and the number of employees: 47052 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 809 and after the incident was 748 with a difference of -61 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on Instagram and their customers.

On 07 January 2024, Instagram (Meta) disclosed Data Scrape / Alleged Breach issues under the banner "Alleged Instagram Data Leak of 17 Million Users".

A hacker claimed to have access to a 2024 data leak impacting over 17 million Instagram users, later revealed to be a repackaged dataset from 2023.

The disruption is felt across the environment, affecting Instagram platform (alleged unauthorized access to password reset system), and exposing Usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, display names, account IDs, geolocation data, with nearly 17 million (6.2 million with email addresses) records at risk.

In response, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Instagram acknowledged and fixed the password reset issue, and began remediation that includes Users advised to update passwords and watch for phishing attempts, and stakeholders are being briefed through Public statement denying breach but acknowledging password reset issue.

The case underscores how Ongoing (alleged repackaged dataset; unauthorized access to password reset system confirmed), teams are taking away lessons such as Older datasets can still pose risks; users should remain vigilant against phishing and update passwords regularly. Organizations should verify breach claims before amplifying them, and recommending next steps like Update passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), Monitor for phishing attempts targeting exposed PII and Verify breach claims before public disclosure to avoid misinformation, with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Meta/Instagram advised users to disregard password reset emails and update passwords.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating alleged unauthorized access to password reset system via Instagram API and Phishing: Spearphishing Link (T1566.002) with moderate confidence (50%), supported by evidence indicating users reported receiving unsolicited password reset emails. Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Unsecured Credentials: Cloud Instance Metadata API (T1552.005) with lower confidence (40%), supported by evidence indicating alleged API scraping of Instagram data and Brute Force: Password Cracking (T1110.002) with lower confidence (30%), supported by evidence indicating password reset emails sent to users (potential credential testing). Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Cloud Storage (T1530) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating dataset contained usernames, emails, phone numbers, and geolocation data and Data from Information Repositories: Code Repositories (T1213.003) with moderate confidence (50%), supported by evidence indicating alleged scraping of Instagram API (potential misconfiguration). Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Transfer Data to Cloud Account (T1537) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating dataset posted on clear web hacking forum by hacker *Solonik*. Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Defacement: Internal Defacement (T1491.001) with lower confidence (40%), supported by evidence indicating negative publicity and user confusion due to unsolicited emails and Data Manipulation: Stored Data Manipulation (T1565.001) with lower confidence (30%), supported by evidence indicating repackaged old dataset presented as new breach. Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Masquerading: Masquerade Task or Service (T1036.004) with moderate confidence (50%), supported by evidence indicating hacker repackaged old dataset as new breach to evade detection. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.