235 million social media users warned of phishing risk following data exposure dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe security research team at Comparitech today disclosed how an unsecured database left almost 235 million Instagram, TikTok and YouTube user profiles exposed online in what can only be described as a massive data leak. The third-largest was a dataset of some 42 million TikTok users, followed by just under 4 million YouTube user profiles. However, Deep Social was banned by both Facebook and Instagram in 2018 after scraping user profile data. The administrators of Deep Social then forwarded the disclosure to a Hong Kong-registered social media influencer data-marketing company called Social Data. Advice for concerned Instagram, TikTok and YouTube usersMeanwhile, I would advise users of all the services affected, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to be especially alert to phishing scams by email or posted as social media comments.

Source: Forbes August 19, 2020 13:00 UTC