Fashion blogger Rozalia Russian has been forced to rethink the security of her social media platforms after a hacker staged a "takeover" of her Instagram account and extorted about $5000 for its return.
Blogger Rozalia Russian had her instagram account hacked for a ransom. Photo: Penny Stephens
Mrs Russian ��� a leading Melbourne blogger, "social ambassador" and "influencer" whose livelihood is based on her 167,000 followers on her @rozalia_russianaccount and another 14,700 for her online store @rozalia.com.au��� is not only attractive to the brands and companies with which she works. Hackers are now apparently targeting those with an affluent profile and Instagram celebrity.
Cyber security expert Ty Miller, of Threat Intelligence, said hackers were "very opportunistic" when it came to extortion.
A spam post on Rozalia Russia's Instagram from the ''FollowLift.us'' site for fake followers. Photo: Suzanne Carbone
"Social media account hacking, including Instagram, is big business these days, since hackers can make a lot of money through compromised accounts," Mr Miller said.
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Mrs Russian discovered her account had been hacked when a "FollowLift.us" spam-style site that floods accounts with fake followers started posting ads on her page.
She tried to log in but the username and password had been changed, along with her phone number and email address. "There was no way of resetting the passwords," she said. "The situation was so stressful that my face broke out in a rash."
Rozalia Russian campaigned for the return of her hacked Instagram account. Photo: Facebook
Her angst was compounded when thousands of followers suddenly unfollowed her because of the spam from the hacker, prompting her to campaign on her online store and Facebook page with the #bringbackrozalia_russian hashtag.
Things took a nasty turn when derogative comments appeared on posts, saying that she would be exposed for "who you are" and claiming she had married nightclub identity Nick Russian for money.
Mr Russian was caught up in a bucks' night ordeal in Baliin June 2015 involving strippers and corrupt police, who extorted $25,000 from the group of men in exchange for their freedom.
An Instagram post about the hacking.
Mrs Russian said the best thing that happened during the 24-hour ordeal over her Instagram account was the hacker leaving a comment on her retail page saying "LMAO no I didn't" in response to whether he had made the derogatory comments. "That was his undoing," she said.
Via the comment and its cyber trail, her IT guru traced the hacker and discovered he was a teenage college student from the US. A phone number was found via the American White Pages and an email address was obtained.
Mr Russian phoned the hacker, who said: "It's not me, but I know who did it." Mr Russian pleaded for the account back, but the hacker said: "What's in it for me?"
Rozalia and Nick Russian are regulars at Melbourne's A-list functions. Photo: Shaney Balcombe
Some hackers stage a "takeover" for mischief, others for dollars. During negotiations with the hacker over the money being sent via PayPal, Mrs Russian discovered that two friends ��� a travel blogger with 1 million followers and a model ��� had been hacked by the same person.
The travel blogger decided to pay the ransom and with Mrs Russian, they paid a combined $5000 to regain control of the two accounts. Mrs Russian said neither of the other two victims wanted to comment.
Mrs Russian declined to comment on whether she had reported the hacking to the Victoria Police e-crime squad. Her lawyer has a firm in the US and it is believed she is investigating whether the hacker can be prosecuted or she can launch legal action against him, but she did not want to comment on her course of action.
The FBI investigates cybercrime when its Internet Crime Complaint Centre receives a complaint.
Mrs Russian reported the hacking to Instagram but did not hear back. An Instagram spokesperson said: "We work hard to provide the Instagram community with a safe and secure experience."
Instagram lists five security tipsand the first is "pick a strong password".
Mrs Russian said she had reported the hacking to the Australian government's Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network. From October 2015 to December 2015, 9291 people reported a crime to the network and the top three targets of cyber criminals were email, social networking and website advertising.
A spokesperson from the Attorney-General's Department said suitable reports were referred to law enforcement agencies for possible investigation depending on a number of factors, including the location of the suspect and whether there was sufficient information about the offender.
Nigel Phair���, the director of the Centre for Internet Safety at the University of Canberra, said the "takeover" of accounts occurred because of weak passwords and the same passwords being used for different accounts.
"Hacking of social media accounts is under-reported, mainly because if a compromise occurs, the victim sometimes does not know about it and when they do find out it is often embarrassing to inform anyone, particularly law enforcement," Mr Phair said.
Elite fashion house J'Aton Couture had its Instagram account hacked after its March 8 runway show at the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, but this was a mischief job, with the hacker posting spam about free mobile phones.
The 2015 Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report for Australia, shows consumers lost $1.2 billion to cybercrime in a year, and only 47 per cent of people "always" use a strong password.
In Mrs Russian's desperation to get her account back, she considered the alternative of not paying the hacker the ransom. "If you piss him off, who knows what he will do?" she said. This could include deleting her account, her social-media existence and her livelihood.
Five ways to prevent hacking Have a strong password Do not use the same password for different accounts Change passwords at least twice a year Don't reveal them to anyone Social media users should secure their accounts using the privacy settings and be careful of the identifiable information they post about themselves and their friends.
Source: Nigel Phair���, director of the Centre for Internet Safety at the University of Canberra