Business Dynamic (11)-A Security Alert : Tiktok Flaws Exposed
Tiktok is an application that launched in China on September 2016. This App is a combination of both social media and video clips, much like snapchat or LIVIT 17. Following the trend of other social media Apps, Tiktok allows users to record and upload video clips, as well as to post and share comments. This APP appeals to those younger than 24 years of age. Moving on to the content, the majority of video clips found on Tiktok include lip-syncing, mob-dancing and so on. However, users have the option to set their account to private which means their videos will not be viewed publicly by other users if they so wish.
Taking security issues into consideration, in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg clearly announced the hazards of using Chinese applications like Tiktok as these Apps are currently monitored by the Chinese government. In this way, all App users are under threat because Chinese authorities are keeping track of their personal information along the way. This has proved to be a massive security threat for all Tiktok users. For this reason, the committee of Foreign Investment in the United Sates sees Tiktok as a national cybersecurity threat which was reinforced since the acquisition between Musical.ly and Tiktok at the end of 2019.
As a result, both the U.S. Army and Navy have issued a ban against Tiktok being used on government owned devices because they have categorized Tiktok as a security threat. This was fortified by Check Point in Israel which has unveiled a loophole that allows hackers to invade various user accounts by sending a message with a spam link for users to click on. According to research published on 8th January, Check Point researchers were able to steal personal information from Tiktok through a loophole, which like a mouth is now wide-open.
Around the world, we have all witnessed the substantial growth of Tiktok outside of Asia. This App now has the power to write a new page in the western chapter of Chinese technology. Meanwhile, Tiktok has been growing increasingly more popular among U.S. teenagers, which also comes at a time of escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over an unresolved trade deal and technology transfers. Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg has already seen something we did not consider at the start of this technological boom. All in all it seems as if Tiktok though originally made in China is here to stay. Despite the warnings that have been issued by Sir Zuckerberg himself, along with the threat of security infringements. Tiktok seems to be an APP that is here to stay .
