Instagram is updated to solve its security problems
Just a couple of days ago the news broke about a vulnerability in Instagram applications A problem that jeopardized the user accounts of this photography social network by not protecting the data that is sent between the applications for smartphones and the application's servers. Something that Instagram have made an effort to solve thanks to updates for both the platform Android as for iOSUpdates already available and it is recommended to install them as soon as possible.
In this way, Instagram has first released an update for iPhone and iPad which raises its version number to 6.0.5 A update that presents as the only novelty the solution of bugs or malfunctions, and the general improvementof the application. Something that avoids directly naming recently discovered issues and vulnerabilities. Exactly the same thing is happening with version 6.3.1 on platform Android, without providing functional innovations, new filters or visual improvements. Which indicates that this latest update has focused primarily on the issue of fixing security issues, even thoughInstagram has not officially confirmed it.
And it is that on July 26th the security expert Ahmed Mazin published on his blog a surprising vulnerability that directly affected the users of the applications of Instagram In his investigation he discovered that there was the transmission of user data between the applications and the servers of this social network without being encrypted or protected under a code. Faced with such a question, he was able to experiment with said data, stealing it and managing to hijack a user account to use it in his favor, carrying out an identity theft that can occur with the necessary knowledge and tools.
After reporting to Facebook, company responsible for Instagram , she told him that they had been working on the problem for some time and that there would be a solution soon, also recommending not to use the mobile applications or the public WiFi connections to prevent data theft.However, as Ahmed shows in his blog, they did not confirm a date for the solution of this moderately serious security problem, only that it was a process that they had to do. Something that has finally been carried out with updates of its applications for Android and iOS, as expected.
In this way, users of Instagram should be careful when publishing content and using the application at any time and place. And it seems that finally the information and data transmitted is encrypted. Or that is suspected after this update At the moment there has been no official statement from Instagram or Facebook about this problem that is supposedly fixed. We will have to wait and see if the researchers and security experts do not find another problem that jeopardizes the security or privacy of the users of this photography social network .For now, you can breathe easy again and stop using the web version as the only way to safely enjoy this content.
