Instagram Rolls Out New Security Features

Instagram Rolls Out New Security Features

The new tools will make it easier for users to protect their accounts.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Aug 30, 2018

Popular photo sharing app, Instagram, has announced three features designed to bring security and peace of mind to the platform.

The new tools will make it easier for users to know who is actually behind some of the platform's biggest accounts. It is also introducing its new verification system for celebrities and public figures, and offers support for the use of third-party authenticator apps.

Until now, Instagram's implementation of two-factor authentication wasn't as secure as it could have been. After security researchers' many complaints, Instagram is finally introducing the ability to receive login codes through an app, instead of a test message. SMS messages are a less secure way to verify someone's identity because mobile accounts are vulnerable to SIM hijacking, an increasingly prevalent hack.

Hackers have attacked the platform many times over the past year. SIM hackers known to target desirable Instagram usernames and gain access to the accounts by taking control of the user's phone number and routing all the victim's texts and calls to a different SIM card.

Hackers then sell hijacked Instagram handles for thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoin. A number of Instagram users who were hacked said they had two-factor authentication enabled and Instagram did not warn them that their settings had been bypassed, changed or disabled.

The victims had only realized they had been hacked when they found that their accounts' handles and avatars had been changes, and their accounts' associated email addresses had been switched to ones with Russian .ru domains.

To set up the two-factor authentication via app on Instagram, you first need to download a third-party authenticator app if you don't already have one. You can choose from several, including the Google Authenticator, Duo or Authy.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Smarter Access Starts with Flexibility

    Today’s workplaces are undergoing a rapid evolution, driven by hybrid work models, emerging smart technologies, and flexible work schedules. To keep pace with growing workplace demands, buildings are becoming more dynamic – capable of adapting to how people move, work, and interact in real-time. Read Now

  • Trends Keeping an Eye on Business Decisions

    Today, AI continues to transform the way data is used to make important business decisions. AI and the cloud together are redefining how video surveillance systems are being used to simulate human intelligence by combining data analysis, prediction, and process automation with minimal human intervention. Many organizations are upgrading their surveillance systems to reap the benefits of technologies like AI and cloud applications. Read Now

  • The Future is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reason. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. But as the number of cameras grows and resolutions push from HD to 4K and beyond, the cloud’s limits are becoming unavoidable. Bandwidth bottlenecks. Latency lags. Rising storage costs. These are not abstract concerns. Read Now

  • Right-Wing Activist Charlie Kirk Dies After Utah Valley University Shooting

    Charlie Kirk, a popular conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, died Wednesday after being shot during an on-campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah Read Now

  • The Impact of Convergence Between IT and Physical Security

    For years, the worlds of physical security and information technology (IT) remained separate. While they shared common goals and interests, they often worked in silos. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.