Skip to comments.
Report: Apple Caught China-Owned TikTok Spying on Millions of iPhone Users
Breitbart ^
| 27 Jun 2020
| TOM CICCOTTA
Posted on 06/27/2020 12:43:04 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
click here to read article
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-36 last
To: E. Pluribus Unum
Please stop using TikTok and ask your kids to stop.
To: E. Pluribus Unum
The same group that tried to sabotage Trump’s rally in Tulsa
22
posted on
06/27/2020 2:13:08 PM PDT
by
Zathras
To: Swordmaker; dayglored
What’s your take on this? Overhyped or genuine risk?
23
posted on
06/27/2020 2:38:49 PM PDT
by
Zhang Fei
(My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room.)
To: Zhang Fei
TikTok should be banned. It is a collection tool for the CCP and it targets kids.
24
posted on
06/27/2020 2:41:18 PM PDT
by
CJ Wolf
( #wwg1wga #Godwins)
To: Zhang Fei; Swordmaker
My take is that TikTok is spyware. Im rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place.
Vulnerabilities happen in all software so companies have to be particularly careful about allowing apps tied to known malefactors, regardless of their popularity.
I continue to use Apple products (Macs, iPhones, iPads) because overall they appear to me to be the best mix of function, privacy, and data security. But nothing is perfect. Id like to see Apple drop support for TikTok.
25
posted on
06/27/2020 3:41:02 PM PDT
by
dayglored
("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
To: dayglored
[My take is that TikTok is spyware. Im rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place.
Vulnerabilities happen in all software so companies have to be particularly careful about allowing apps tied to known malefactors, regardless of their popularity.
I continue to use Apple products (Macs, iPhones, iPads) because overall they appear to me to be the best mix of function, privacy, and data security. But nothing is perfect. Id like to see Apple drop support for TikTok. ]
Thanks for the tip. I don’t use Tiktok (or Twitter or Facebook) and probably never will. But I’m just curious as to how vulnerable smartphone API’s are to a determined state actor like TikTok (because of the likely official embedding of Chinese government hackers or at least political officers among the programming staff).
26
posted on
06/27/2020 4:21:15 PM PDT
by
Zhang Fei
(My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room.)
To: E. Pluribus Unum
27
posted on
06/27/2020 5:15:40 PM PDT
by
KSCITYBOY
(The media is corrupt)
To: E. Pluribus Unum
The outrage! TicTok spying on I-phone users.
That’s Apple’s job, the cell provider’s job, and the NSA’s job.
To: Zhang Fei; Swordmaker
You are right to be concerned about determined state actors. China has a tremendous number of bright, talented, and highly motivated technical people, many trained in the US and aware of Western conventions and habits. As a result, China can throw an enormous amount of firepower at our APIs and firewalls, our encryption implementations, our security mechanisms, etc.
Apples technical team is similarly bright and talented, but their motivation is necessarily somewhat different. They are mainly trying to develop products, increase capabilities and features, improve security, etc. Im sure Apple has a great test/QA team trying to find weaknesses and mistakes both in design and implementation. But the sheer numbers are in favor of the Bad Guys.
Just as with the argument for Open Source that having lots of eyeballs makes it easier to find errors lots of eyeballs also makes it easier to hack into defenses.
TikTok is like a Trojan horse in every sense. Users install it at their peril. Of course, there are many such nefarious apps around, but the huge popularity of TikTok gives it much greater coverage and momentum.
29
posted on
06/27/2020 7:10:13 PM PDT
by
dayglored
("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
To: dayglored; ~Kim4VRWC's~; 1234; 5thGenTexan; AbolishCSEU; Abundy; Action-America; acoulterfan; ...
Dayglored said: My take is that TikTok is spyware. Im rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place. My response is that all apps that access the web have the potential to be spyware. In this instance, any app that has access to the clipboard and copy and paste can obviously paste what is currently in the paste buffer. Thats what this is all about! If that capability is there, its childs play to send whats in that buffer to the apps server! Any browser or messenger app could do it. In fact, any connected app could. The question is, do you trust the app publisher NOT to do it? Why is TikTok any different from any other publisher except that its owned and controlled by the Chinese Communist Government. What do we put in our cut and paste clipboard might make all the difference. . . If its sensitive data, dont leave it there in the buffer. Copy something else totally innocuous, such as a single word, word would be a good copy choice to leave in the buffer. Just dont leave your secret plans to invade China, or the top secret, burn before reading, plans for the new Z bomb, in the buffer after youve finished sending them to your henchmen! PING!
APPLE TikTok vulnerability? No, not really. . .
Its FUD, Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, Again!
PING!
If you want on or off the Apple/Mac/iOS Ping List, Freepmail me.
30
posted on
06/27/2020 11:03:52 PM PDT
by
Swordmaker
(My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplophobe bigotu)
Think about it, what are the average TikTok users going to have in their clipboard buffers?
The answer is obvious: The last photo or meme they copied to post on TikTok! These users one time use buffers are NOT going to have a damn thing of momentous import in them thats most likely not already uploaded on their TikTok account.
31
posted on
06/27/2020 11:09:25 PM PDT
by
Swordmaker
(My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplophobe bigotu)
Incidentally, I read through the deeper linked articles on the TIKTOK malware and found that its mostly Android spying that sends back user info. I found zero references to Apple iOS for user info that could not be gleaned from the Cellular data carrier!
32
posted on
06/27/2020 11:15:44 PM PDT
by
Swordmaker
(My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplophobe bigotu)
To: Swordmaker
Thanks for the research on this. Never heard of TT until recently.
33
posted on
06/27/2020 11:30:55 PM PDT
by
The Westerner
(Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and forests!)
To: Zhang Fei
Whats your take on this? Overhyped or genuine risk? FUD. See my response above in replies 30, 31, and 32.
34
posted on
06/28/2020 12:12:07 AM PDT
by
Swordmaker
(My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplophobe bigotu)
To: Swordmaker
35
posted on
06/28/2020 3:07:09 AM PDT
by
Biggirl
("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
To: WellyP
Is Tick-tok trying to replace YouTube?
36
posted on
06/28/2020 3:16:26 AM PDT
by
Biggirl
("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-36 last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson