TikTok said its security team was working to address the issue after hackers breached the accounts of several celebrities and brands on its video platform, including Paris Hilton, CNN and Sony. The ByteDance-owned video app maker did not provide any information about the nature of the attack or its mitigation techniques, saying only that it thwarted it and has taken steps to prevent such an incident from happening in the future.
As previously reported by Semaphore and Forbes, the malicious attack likely involved malware sent through TikTok direct messages, potentially impacting account owners' ability to access their TikTok profiles. None of the affected accounts had started posting content, so the hackers' objectives were not immediately clear. According to Semaphore, CNN's account was breached by hackers last week, forcing it to suspend the account for several days. The news organization said it is working with TikTok to take additional measures to keep the account safe in the coming days, including during the US presidential election.
Asked for comment, TikTok declined to provide details about the nature of the attack or how it is responding to it, lest it “snitch” on potential bad actors.
“Our security team is aware of a potential attack targeting a number of high-profile accounts,” a company spokesperson said. “We prevented the attack and have taken steps to prevent this from happening in the future. Where necessary, we are working directly with affected account holders to restore access.”
The attack comes at a time when questions are being raised about TikTok's influence in the U.S. Citing national security concerns, President Biden signed a bill in April that requires TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or be barred from operating in the U.S. If ByteDance doesn't sell it, the law will make it illegal for app stores to distribute TikTok.
TikTok has since sued the US government over the law, with the legal battle set to continue for months, while Donald Trump, a long-time critic of TikTok (and the first US president to try to ban the app), is now using the app to campaign.