5 methods used by hackers to penetrate your Facebook or Instagram account
Facebook and Instagram are the most popular communication platforms in the world, with nearly 4 billion users around the world using them, so hackers target them intensely due to the priceless information and data they contain.
Although Facebook is constantly working to provide multiple ways to secure user accounts, however, sometimes if you have a notification on your phone that there is an attempt to log in an unusual way to your account from a strange geographic area or a device that you have not heard of before, this will matter. It causes you a lot of anxiety and panic at the same time.
So, to help you maintain your calm and get out of such incidents with the least amount of losses, today we will review the most prominent methods used by hackers to steal your account data, and what do you do if you receive a notification of a suspicious login to your account at any time?
First: What are the methods used by hackers to steal your Facebook and Instagram account data:
There are many methods that hackers may use in order to obtain login data for different accounts, the most important of which is your e-mail address, and the most famous of these methods are:
1- data breaches:
Data leaks and breaches occur on the Internet regularly, and if hackers are not able to directly access the login data in applications such as: Facebook and Instagram, they can obtain this data in the event that another website is hacked and the stolen data includes your account information, then they can implement An attack called credential stuffing attack to access your account.
In an attack (credential stuffing) a hacker loads a database containing as many usernames and passwords as possible, then that data is entered into an automated hacking tool - like Selenium, CURL, or other tools designed specifically for these types of attacks - to test it on A wide range of websites and mobile applications, and the more data a hacker obtains, the more likely it is that he will hack your account.
In addition, your Facebook or Instagram login data may be leaked through another application connected to your Facebook or Instagram account, for example: in June of last year, cyber criminals accessed thousands of Instagram account passwords, after they They managed to hack the SocialCaptain app.
2- Phishing campaigns:
This happens, if you click on the URL link and enter your data through a fake Facebook or Instagram registration screen, for example: Kaspersky's digital security researchers in January revealed a phishing campaign that attracted victims to fake login pages by threatening to block them. Their Facebook accounts for violating their copyright.
3- stealing passwords:
Malware can also steal login data, for example: Many applications that are downloaded from untrusted sources contain built-in malware called a keylogger that records keystrokes, and in this way, cyber criminals will have every username and password that you enter.
4- stealing (access tokens):
Sometimes hackers may be able to steal your Access token - a digital key kept in your computer that gives you access to your account without entering your login data every time you log into Facebook or Instagram - and then if the hacker can If you have a valid code, they can access your account without the need for a username and password.
Facebook was subjected to this attack in 2018. Hackers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in Facebook's code to obtain access tokens, and they were able to access access codes for up to 50 million Facebook accounts. Icons can also be stolen through browser extensions.
5- fake login notifications:
You might get a notification of trying to log into your account from a device you don't know, but in reality it might be a false notification, and it differs slightly from the known phishing, so instead of threatening you to block your account, the hacker will present you this notification with a URL link to a fake website Similar to the real login page for Facebook or Instagram, hopefully you will enter your account information on this fake website.
Second: What should you do?
Log in to your account on Facebook or Instagram, but certainly not through the link in the notification, instead use the application in your phone, or manually enter the URL in your browser, if the password does not work and your access is blocked, then the password recovery process Immediately, in the Facebook application via this link, and in the Instagram application via this link.
If you can log in to your account, go to the notifications in the app for additional information, then go to the account logins screen, if you do not see any suspicious entries, this means that the message was just a phishing message, but if you see something suspicious in Account logins list, take the following immediate action to mitigate the damage:
- Immediately log out of your account on all the devices that you have used previously.
- Confirm your phone number and email address in Account Settings.
- Set a new password, make it strong and unique, and don't use it anywhere else.
- Enable 2FA to make future account penetration more difficult even if you obtain your password.
- Scan all of your devices with reliable antivirus software to ensure they are free of malware.
There is no doubt that changing your bad behavior and habits in dealing with your online accounts and electronic devices, and securing them well will help you reduce the risks, and to know how you can do this; Check out the article: “5 things you need to do to protect your accounts from being hacked in 2021.”