Shaq Lost Access To His Instagram. Here's How to Save Yours

Unfortunately, social media accounts are huge targets for cybercriminals who want significant financial gain, reputation damage, and access to millions of followers for spreading scams or malware. When hackers compromise high-profile accounts, they often weaponize that platform's credibility and reach to launch fraud campaigns.

The potential for massive returns is simply too attractive for criminals willing to invest time and resources into bypassing security measures.

That’s why in this post, we'll cover what happened to Shaq's Instagram account, why social media hacks should matter to your business, and practical steps you can take to protect your Instagram profile from similar attacks.

What Happened To Shaq's Instagram Account?

On July 11, 2025, Shaquille O'Neal's Instagram account with over 35 million followers was hacked. Unauthorized users gained access to his profile and quickly posted two screenshots showing exaggerated investment "wins." They also promoted the account @mrsjoyce_, that falsely promised massive returns to his followers.

Shaq instantly addressed the situation on X with his characteristic style. He kept it brief but made his point: "To the people who hacked my IG," followed by that iconic Liam Neeson "I will find you" GIF. Classic Shaq, but with a serious tone that showed he wasn't taking the breach lightly.

Luckily, the account was recovered quickly, and Shaq confirmed the news on his Instagram Stories with a simple update: "Account secured."

Why Should This Matter To You?

Social media accounts are top targets for cybercriminals and no one's immune from falling victim to them. Whether you're managing a small business account or a large corporate presence, the threat landscape affects everyone equally. Hackers don't discriminate based on follower count, they target any account that can provide value through access, influence, or data.

That’s why social media breaches are serious problems for businesses of all sizes. When your account gets hijacked, it becomes a platform for spreading scams, pushing fake promotions, or even launching phishing attacks against your followers.

What’s worse is that this activity creates serious consequences that continue long after the initial breach. It puts your followers at risk of financial fraud, damages the trust they have in your business, and can disrupt your day-to-day operations (and the ripple effects can continue long after you've recovered your account).

Small and mid-size businesses face particularly harsh consequences from social media breaches compared to larger organizations. You'll experience a harder financial and reputational hit because you likely lack the resources for immediate damage control and recovery. The loss of customer trust can be devastating, especially when your business depends on strong community relationships and word-of-mouth marketing.

Unfortunately, social media hacks aren’t an isolated incident but part of a much bigger trend affecting organizations worldwide. In 2024 alone, 39% of organizations were affected by multipurpose malware including RATs, botnets, and bankers (the most common malware type targeting businesses). This is a significant 25% increase compared to 2023 when only 31% of organizations faced similar attempts.

At the same time, the overall cyberattack frequency is ramping up at an alarming rate. The average number of weekly attacks per organization reached 1,673 globally in 2024, that’s a 44% spike compared to 2023 levels.

Most business sectors have seen an increase in cyberattack frequency, making this a universal threat rather than an industry-specific problem. Social media hacks are just one component of a much broader cybersecurity crisis that shows no signs of slowing down.

How You Can Protect Your Instagram Profile

There’s been a significant increase in cyber attacks across most sectors, meaning that businesses need to take the threat seriously and implement strong protections for their social media presence.

Waiting until after an attack happens is too late. Here's what you should do right now to protect your Instagram account:

1) Train Your Team To Recognize Phishing Attempts

Training your team to recognize phishing attacks is one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of account takeovers. This is because human error remains the main cause of security incidents, and phishing is the most common entry point for attackers. When your team is able to successfully identify suspicious communications, they become your first line of defense against social engineering attempts.

Phishing attacks are growing rapidly, with infostealers becoming particularly dangerous for businesses. This type of malware is designed to quietly extract sensitive information from infected systems, and they're often delivered through phishing emails or social media messages. Once installed on a device, they can steal login credentials, financial data, browser cookies, and even cryptocurrency wallet information.

In 2024 alone, infostealer infection attempts jumped by 58%, hitting 19% of organizations compared to 12% the year before. This sharp increase tells us that cybercriminals are investing heavily in these tools to target business credentials and sensitive data so we must address it.

2) Create A Rapid Response Team (RTT)

A Rapid Response Team is your company’s safety net when things go wrong. A solid RTT helps your team act fast, contain the damage, and start recovery without wasting precious time. Your RTT should outline who to contact first, how to report the breach to relevant platforms, what steps to take to lock down compromised accounts, and how to communicate with your audience during the incident. It keeps your team focused and aligned in high-stress situations when clear thinking is difficult.

3) Use A Strong Password

Strong passwords provide one of the most effective ways to keep your social media accounts safe from unauthorized access. Weak or reused passwords help attackers brute force their way into accounts, especially when combined with phishing attacks or leaked data from other breaches. Once attackers gain access through compromised credentials, they can take over your account, steal sensitive information, or use your platform to scam other people.

To create strong passwords, make them long (14 characters or more), unpredictable, and unique for each account you manage. Avoid common words, phrases, or anything tied to your personal life that attackers could guess through social media research or public records searches.

Also, consider using a password manager to generate and store strong passwords automatically. That way you won't have to memorize many complex combinations while making sure each account has maximum protection. Password managers also eliminate the temptation to reuse passwords (they’ll remember them for you), increasing your online security posture even more.

4) Use Two Factor Authentication For Teams

Using two-factor authentication (2FA) for teams adds a second layer of security to your social media accounts that helps prevent unauthorized logins even if your passwords are stolen or compromised through other means.

Enabling 2FA is extremely effective at stopping the vast majority of unauthorized access attempts. This is backed up by Microsoft research that shows how 2FA blocks approximately 99.9% of brute force attacks.

Here’s how it works: The authentication process requires both something you know (your password) and something you have (your phone or authentication app). Even if attackers obtain your password through phishing or data breaches, they still can't access your accounts without the second authentication factor.

The main benefit of 2FA for teams is that unlike regular 2FA, it centralizes your login codes to a single secure platform so all team members can have access to them without having to reach out to the main admin every time they want to login. As a result, you improve efficiency and security through the platform’s additional security monitoring.

5) Regularly Review Connected Apps

Regularly reviewing third-party connected apps prevents security vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit to gain access to your social media accounts. One thing you should always remember is that even apps that seem harmless or trustworthy can become weak spots that cybercriminals target to post unauthorized content or steal sensitive information. Many businesses connect multiple tools and services to their social media accounts but forget to maintain oversight of these connections, leaving an attack vector exposed.

Third-party apps often request broad permissions that can be misused if the app developer's security is compromised. What’s worse is that attackers who gain control of these apps can potentially post content you didn't approve of, access your follower data, or even change account settings without your knowledge. 

If you're no longer using an app or service, revoke its access immediately. Carry out reviews monthly or quarterly. The fewer external connections your account maintains, the smaller your attack surface becomes.

6) Use A Social Media Security Tool To Protect Your Account

Security breaches keep happening all the time and are damaging businesses across all industries. This means that traditional security measures alone aren't enough to protect against attackers who use advanced techniques and tools. As we've seen with Shaq's hack and other high-profile breaches, attackers use compromised accounts to promote scams, engage with followers maliciously, and potentially steal valuable data.

That’s why you should do everything you can to protect your accounts with a social media security tool like Spikerz.

Spikerz adds extra layers of security through advanced monitoring and automated response capabilities. For example, if someone breaks into your account, it acts immediately to kick the intruder out, changes your password automatically, and alerts you to the attempt so you can take additional protective action.

Spikerz also helps brands centralize access management with 2FA for teams and provides complete visibility into who has access to your accounts at any given time. If someone leaves your organization or changes roles, you can easily revoke their access without disrupting operations.

Additionally, the platform monitors your content for violations, spam, bots, phishing attempts, and other forms of social engineering that could damage your reputation. When it identifies potential issues, it alerts you through your dashboard so you can take immediate action before problems escalate.

If this sounds like something that would help your business protect its social media presence, give Spikerz a try. We're confident you'll find it invaluable for maintaining your online security.

Conclusion

Shaquille O'Neal's Instagram hack is a wake-up call for businesses of all sizes. Even accounts with huge audiences and presumed high security can fall victim to cybercriminals. No one is immune from these attacks and the consequences extend far beyond the initial breach to include reputation damage, financial losses, and risks to your followers.

With 39% of organizations affected by multipurpose malware and weekly attacks per organization jumping 44% in 2024, the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Social media platforms are simply too attractive of a target. They offer attackers access to large audiences, established trust relationships, and opportunities for financial gain through various scams.

That’s precisely why you should protect your social media accounts as much as possible. Protecting your Instagram account requires a multi-layered approach that combines strong passwords, two-factor authentication, team training, and specialized security tools designed for social media threats.

Take proactive steps now to secure your social media presence. It's essential for maintaining your reputation and protecting your customers from becoming victims of scams and fraud.