When a hacker gang claimed to have obtained access to a database including the platform’s source code and user information, TikTok denied the claims (via Bleeping Computer). TikTok has denied these claims, saying its investigation has “uncovered no evidence of a security issue.”
Bleeping Computer reports that hackers released screenshots of the claimed database on a hacking site, claiming to have accessed the information via breaking into a server belonging to TikTok. A total of over 2 billion user records, platform statistics, source code, and other data are said to be stored on the server.
TikTok spokeswoman Maureen Shanahan told The Verge that the company has verified the data samples in issue are all publicly available and are not the result of a hack of TikTok systems, networks, or data records. We are dedicated to the security of our worldwide community and do not think our users need to take any preventative measures.
It seems that the majority of the “stolen” material was information that was readily available to the public. Microsoft’s regional director and developer of the Have I Been Pwned tool, Troy Hunt, called the data obtained by the hackers “inconclusive,” but speculated that “it may be non-production or test material” that was not stolen in a breach.
The hackers behind “AgainstTheWest” also claim to have information stolen from the Chinese messaging service WeChat.
But, whether or not the hackers’ database contained stolen information was something Troy Hunt could not verify.
The fact that TikTok’s parent firm, ByteDance, is headquartered in China has brought the app and its rival, WeChat, under the microscope for their possible links to the Chinese government. In response to recent claims that TikTok personnel in China accessed information belonging to US customers, the company has taken many measures, including storing American data on Oracle’s servers in the US.
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