AI BriefingAccount Takeover Security Threat Using AI Agents
Key point
A case has been reported in which excessive permissions of Meta's AI-assisted agent were exploited to hijack Instagram accounts.
Details
Recently, attackers have exploited Meta's AI-assisted assistant to hijack high-value Instagram accounts. The attackers took advantage of the fact that the AI agent has excessive permissions to change the recovery email in the account recovery flow.
The attack method is as follows:
- Change the recovery email to an attacker-controlled email through the AI agent
- Receive the password reset code at the changed email
- Even if 2FA (two-factor authentication) is enabled, security is neutralized as the recovery path itself is reset
This incident suggests that when integrating LLM agents into customer support, payment, and account security workflows, how the scope and governance of the agent's permissions are set is a key factor determining a new type of AI-based account takeover (ATO).
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