This week the head of the FBI said he is extremely concerned the app poses a threat to national security. FBI Director Christopher Wray said because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, the data of the roughly 80 million Americans on the app could be weaponized. . .
According to Wray, the FBI has seen a surge in cybersecurity cases, and as the numbers have increased, so too has the complexity of the investigations.
“We’re investigating over 100 different ransomware
variants and each one of those with scores of victims as well as a
whole host of other novel threats posed by both cybercriminals and
nation-states alike," he said. . .
FBI director says TikTok poses national security threat, and he's 'extremely concerned'
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FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress this week that he is “extremely concerned” Beijing could weaponize data collected through TikTok, the popular app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on worldwide threats Tuesday, Wray flagged the risk that the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.
Wray said application programming interfaces, or APIs, that ByteDance embeds in the short-form video hosting are a national security concern because Beijing could use them to “control data collection of millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which can be used for influence operations.”
“China’s fast-hacking program is the world’s largest, and they have stolen more of Americans’ personal and business data than every other nation
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The FBI Says That TikTok Poses National Security Concerns - Wonderful Engineering
TikTok has always been a source of concern for parents of youth concerned about the new worrisome trend. TikTok has been chastised since its beginning, most recently by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
According to NPR, Wray expressed his concerns about the social media app and its possible threat to national security to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on Tuesday, reviewing a proposed deal to keep TikTok functioning in the United States.
According to the FBI director, the Chinese-owned app may be used “to control data gathering on millions of users, or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so want, or to control software on millions of devices.”
Wray’s alleged remarks reflect those of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who previously stated that “at its core, TikTok works as a sophisticated surveillance tool that captures vast amounts of personal and sensitive data.”
It’s unclear when or if TikTok will be banned entirely or whether the planned compromise to allow continuous operation in the US will be accepted. . .
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Troops’ use of TikTok may be national security threat, FCC commissioner says
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Troops and family members could be jeopardizing national security with their use of the TikTok video-sharing app, a U.S. regulator told lawmakers.
While the military services have banned the use of TikTok from government devices, troops and family members do use the app on personal devices.
TikTok is owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance, said Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission. And he’s concerned about the amount of non-public sensitive data Americans upload that could be flowing into the hands of the Chinese government.
TikTok has grown in popularity in the military community. For example, troops often upload videos of barracks, military equipment and maneuvers, Carr said in testimony Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee’s panel on national security.
“With TikTok, this is a device right in your pocket. It’s going inside the military installation, looking at location data, which can give people information on troop movements,” Carr said. “There’s a range of ways that that sensitive data going back to Beijing with their sophisticated [artificial intelligence] can ultimately be used to harm U.S. national security.”
The hearing was held to explore financial fraud targeting service members and veterans. The threats to active duty and veterans come from a variety of sources, according to Carr, and many of the frauds seen on other online platforms are also perpetrated on TikTok. But there are unique national security concerns when it comes to this video-sharing app.
“TikTok has engaged in a pattern of misrepresentation regarding both the amount and extent of data it’s collected as well as how much has been accessed from inside China,” Carr said.
He cited a recent BuzzFeed News report of leaked audio from 80 internal TikTok meetings that showed China has repeatedly accessed Americans’ user data.
“The flow of this non-public sensitive data into China is particularly troubling given the [People’s Republic of China’s] track record of engaging in espionage and other nefarious acts,” Carr said.
“At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of sensitive data from search and browsing history, keystroke patterns, location data, and biometrics including face prints and voice prints,” Carr added. “All of the concerns with TikTok are heightened in the military context.” . .
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