Bottom line: Meta connected its support chatbot directly to critical account management functions, giving attackers an easy way to hijack accounts without authorization.
Attackers were able to take over foreign Instagram accounts through Meta’s AI-powered support interface by simply asking the system directly. The system was configured such that the chatbot could trigger account takeover requests without verifying identity.
According to reports from multiple sources, attackers succeeded in gaining unauthorized access to Instagram accounts of celebrities through Meta’s AI support chatbot. In documented scenarios, hackers made a direct request to the chatbot: they asked the system to link a new email address to the victim’s Instagram account, providing the target account name and their attack-controlled email address. The system executed the request without performing any additional security checks.
The security risk lies in the fact that Meta connected its automated support system directly to the critical account recovery and management process. This allowed the chatbot to essentially execute the complete account takeover procedure in a single step – regardless of whether the person making the request was the actual account owner or not.
For CISOs, this demonstrates a fundamental design flaw: connecting AI systems to sensitive business processes requires strict authentication mechanisms and boundaries. A chatbot should never be able to invoke functions that lead to immediate account takeover without the user providing additional identity proof or the system requiring explicit confirmation steps. This incident underscores that AI integration into critical systems requires a more conservative security architecture than simply providing API access.
Source: simonwillison.net · Published 1 June 2026
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