UPDATED 19:29 EST / NOVEMBER 18 2018

APPS

Instagram suffers downtime after scrambling to fix password-revealing bug

Instagram went down on Saturday morning after parent company Facebook Inc. was forced to fix a bug that exposed user passwords.

The Information reported that Instagram informed affected users earlier in the week that their passwords may have been exposed to a security bug.

The bug is said to have been tied to a feature rolled out in April that allows Instagram users to download their data in compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Some users who used the feature had their plain text passwords included in the URL provided in their web browser.

Instagram said it has since fixed the issue, but exactly when isn’t clear. Gizmodo claimed that Instagram users started reporting login issues late Friday and well into Saturday, which may have been related to changes being made to address the security issue.

After saying that the issue had been fixed, Instagram advised users still experiencing issues to clear their cache or reinstall the app altogether.

Rich Campagna, chief marketing officer at Bitglass Inc., told SiliconANGLE that regardless of the number of individuals affected, the issue raises major concerns about the way that Instagram is handling its users’ data.

“In light of the fact that Facebook owns Instagram and has been experiencing a number of security debacles of its own, it should come as little surprise that Instagram is now exhibiting similar issues,” Campagna said. “Many companies continue to display poor stewardship over the personal details belonging to customers, employees, and other parties. Unless organizations begin to respect the importance of protecting customer data, we will continue to see more big-name companies making costly mistakes that harm countless individuals.”

Photo: Pexels

Since you’re here …

… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.

If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.