India, Jan. 11 -- Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes has claimed that as many as 17.5 million Instagram accounts have been affected by a major data breach, with sensitive user information allegedly being stolen and circulated on the dark web.

"Cybercriminals stole the sensitive information of 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more," Malwarebytes said in a post on X.

According to the firm, the compromised data is now available for sale on the dark web and could be exploited for a range of cybercrimes.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has so far not commented on the alleged breach.

In light of the breach, Malwarebytes has urged Instagram users to...