A cybersecurity firm has drawn attention to TikTok's security holes that would have allowed hackers to penetrate the accounts of their billion-plus users, another black eye for a Chinese-owned social media sensation that is shot by U.S. lawmakers.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. outlined a number of vulnerabilities that could be abused by cyber-attackers to control user accounts and information, from revealing personal data and removing videos to sending text messages on TikTok's behalf. The research firm said it told the Chinese giant ByteDance Inc.-owned TikTok that deployed fixes. TikTok acknowledged the fixes and claimed that it was committed to protecting user data and allowed researchers to report faults privately.
The disclosures may raise attention over a social media service that has grown internationally in popularity over the past few years. ByteDance has emerged as the most valuable start-up in the world thanks largely to the platform where users share lip-syncing and dance videos with more than a billion, mostly young. But with escalating tensions between China and the United States, American politicians warned that the device poses a threat to national security and demanded an investigation. The company based in Beijing weighs options for addressing these concerns.
"TikTok's amusing videos. They created a major trend, a theme, even a musical genre, "researchers at Check Point wrote in the report. "But as some have experienced, there is often a fine line between fun and private clips, and even intimate assets are compromised while trusting to be protected from the apps we use."
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. outlined a number of vulnerabilities that could be abused by cyber-attackers to control user accounts and information, from revealing personal data and removing videos to sending text messages on TikTok's behalf. The research firm said it told the Chinese giant ByteDance Inc.-owned TikTok that deployed fixes. TikTok acknowledged the fixes and claimed that it was committed to protecting user data and allowed researchers to report faults privately.
The disclosures may raise attention over a social media service that has grown internationally in popularity over the past few years. ByteDance has emerged as the most valuable start-up in the world thanks largely to the platform where users share lip-syncing and dance videos with more than a billion, mostly young. But with escalating tensions between China and the United States, American politicians warned that the device poses a threat to national security and demanded an investigation. The company based in Beijing weighs options for addressing these concerns.
"TikTok's amusing videos. They created a major trend, a theme, even a musical genre, "researchers at Check Point wrote in the report. "But as some have experienced, there is often a fine line between fun and private clips, and even intimate assets are compromised while trusting to be protected from the apps we use."
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