TikTok may have vulnerabilities that could lead to hackers taking advantage of your videos.
What happened: Check Point Research, a cybersecurity research firm, said that TikTok may have “multiple vulnerabilities” that could lead to security risks.
- Hackers could create fake text messages that look they were sent from TikTok, according to Check Point. The texts could include a link that would give the hacker access to the user’s TikTok account, The Verge reports.
- Such access includes the ability to upload and delete videos. It’s possible to change videos from public to private, too.
- TikTok’s setup could also allow hackers to send users to malicious websites, too.
- The research team discovered that there are possibilities that hackers could receive “sensitive information about the user such as email address, payment information and birth dates,” according to LiveMint.
- Check Point notified TikTok about these issues.
Response: TikTok security team member Luke Deshotels sent a statement to The Verge about the security risks.
- Deshotels: “TikTok is committed to protecting user data. Like many organizations, we encourage responsible security researchers to privately disclose zero day vulnerabilities to us,” said in a statement. “Before public disclosure, Check Point agreed that all reported issues were patched in the latest version of our app. We hope that this successful resolution will encourage future collaboration with security researchers.”
Bigger picture: Risks associated with TikTok have made headlines through the year.
- The U.S. Army banned people from using the app when using government-issued phones, the Deseret News reported.
- TikTok is currently under a national security review from lawmakers, who worry about the app’s association with China since its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing.