Out of all the individual accounts on Instagram, Selena Gomez has the largest number of followers—a whopping 125 million and counting.
That’s why the news exploded last week when hackers gained access to her Instagram account and uploaded nude photos of her ex-boyfriend, Justin Bieber.
The three photos showed Bieber flashing his frontal regions to the cameras, posted with some raunchy captions.
The hackers were bold enough to leave their Instagram handles—from the look of it, the accounts had links to three random online trolls who have thousands of followers and a handful of posts.
Gomez’s social media management team deactivated the account quickly only to reactivate it minutes later after they had managed to pull down the photos.
Aftermath of the Hack for Gomez’s Team
Kirsten Stubbs, Interscope Record’s digital marketing director, tweeted about the incident informing fans that Gomez’s IG account was down after someone had hacked it.
She also confirmed Gomez’s fans that the social management team had deactivated the account to ensure its safety.
They logged back in after all they had taken all the necessary security measures, including pulling down the photos of course.
This Instagram hack was the latest in a series of high-profile cyber attacks targeting celebrities’ nude photos.
Pattern of Hacks on Celebrity IG Accounts
In the recent past, a series of hacks on social media accounts belonging to celebrities have taken place.
The affected celebrities include Tiger Woods, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart and Katherine McPhee.
Someone hacked into their iCloud accounts, stole their nude photos and videos, and posted them online for everyone to see.
However, the Bieber photos were different.
They were paparazzi images shot in 2015 during his Bora Bora holiday. Those photos first appeared on several websites in a censored fashion but shortly afterward, uncensored photos began to surface.
At the time, Bieber stated that the photos made him feel “super violated.” More specifically, he could not go out because he felt like he was naked whenever he did so.
Reaction from Followers
When the hackers leaked the nude photos, millions of followers could access them through Gomez’s account.
Her fans could not hide their shock after they saw the photos; others realized quickly that someone had hacked the account, condemning it as an invasion of privacy.
Gomez and Bieber have a long history together, beginning in 2010 when rumors started surfacing that they were dating.
In 2011, the pair confirmed that they were dating, but they broke up shortly after the announcement.
From that point, they had a long on-and-off relationship. This peculiar kind of relationship went on for several years.
However, it seems as though they decided to let each other go for good in recent years.
Although it is not yet clear how the hackers got hold of Gomez’s account, there are many cases where celebrities hand over their credentials unknowingly to unscrupulous people through phishing emails.
Can You Prevent Hacks Completely?
Celebrities who suffered from hacks with their most private images and videos exposed can tell you how terrible it feels to have your privacy invaded.
Some are even seeking assistance from lawmakers urging them to re-evaluate how they should deal with hackers.
Celebrities are not the only ones who are prone to having their accounts hacked though.
The wrong hands can also access your account, sometimes without much difficulty.
To avoid such occurrences and the embarrassment that follows, make sure that you have enabled two-factor authentication on your account.
Additionally, you should ensure that you use a strong password that is not easy for anyone to guess. You should change it occasionally just to be safe.
Hackers are wise, and they might lure you into giving them your details by sending you suspicious emails and links.
Never click on such emails or links until you verify their source and confirm that the source is legitimate and secure.