TikTok Hit by Security Breach That Used Malicious Links

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TikTok reportedly dealt with a recent security breach when hackers targeted well-known brands and celebrities on the platform.

The hackers sent malicious links through private messages to hijack prominent accounts on the ByteDance-owned social media platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (June 4).

Intruders managed to breach the account of the cable news channel CNN, according to the report. Although the full list of targeted or compromised accounts has not been disclosed, TikTok said that the number of compromised accounts was relatively small.

“We have taken measures to stop this attack and prevent it from happening in the future,” a TikTok spokesperson told Bloomberg, per the report. “We’re working directly with affected account owners to restore access, if needed.”

This report comes at a time when TikTok is facing a new law in the U.S. that gives China-based ByteDance 12 months to sell its stake in TikTok or risk the platform being shut down.

Signed into law by President Joe Biden in April, the law is supported by those who say the threat of a ban is necessary to resolve national security concerns around the platform.

ByteDance said shortly after the law was signed that it will not sell TikTok and that it will fight the law in U.S. courts.

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted April 24 on TikTok. “We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side.”

The report of the hack at TikTok also comes at a time when several other companies have been targets of cyberattacks.

On Friday (May 31), ticket seller Live Nation said that its Ticketmaster system could have been compromised by a hacker who is trying to sell customer information on the dark web.

It was also reported in May that auction house Christie’s suffered a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of collector details and artwork geolocation data, affecting an estimated 500,000 customers.

On Thursday (May 30), Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the Biden administration to investigate the recent cybersecurity incident at UnitedHealth Group.