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U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#31

Post by thaumasiotes »

angry_octet wrote: post #21

Doesn't matter, they have it on their personal phone. App security is so bad that you pretty much need to virtualize the phone and feed it fake sensor data. The whole idea of unrestricted network access is stupid.

> The whole idea of unrestricted network access is stupid.

I've been coming around to a similar idea. I'd like a setup something like this for my desktop:

1. Some devices representing network connections. One or more are "real"; others may be VPNs.

2. Per-application settings governing which network devices, if any, the application may use. Default to none.

For example, the common way to use a VPN is like this:

1. Start your machine. You're connected to the internet, but not yet to the VPN. All of your running software is already using the internet over the unprotected connection.

2. Start the VPN. It will magically do something such that applications wanting to use "the internet" find it instead of the connection they used to find (the one the VPN itself is still using). All of your running software is now using the VPN. Did you want something to use the other connection? Too bad.

I'm sick of the idea that Windows perceives an internet connection somehow, hides it from me, and automatically makes it available to everything that asks for "the internet". But I don't actually know how to do this. Someone is working really, really hard to make sure I don't affect who uses what device.

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#32

Post by apk-d »

angry_octet wrote: post #21

Doesn't matter, they have it on their personal phone. App security is so bad that you pretty much need to virtualize the phone and feed it fake sensor data. The whole idea of unrestricted network access is stupid.

Installing a firewall app and checking the connection log on my Android phone really spooked me. There's a ton of traffic in the background that shouldn't be there. It's absolutely crazy that Android doesn't have a first party firewall or the ability to disable internet access permission per app, but that would impact Google's ad revenue, so of course we can't have that.

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#33

Post by falcolas »

Operyl wrote: post #14
falcolas wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone likely did a risk/benefit analysis and the analysis didn’t come out in favor of the benefits. It’s probably that simple.

In the case of Tiktok, I agree. I’m just arguing for the class of apps in general (social media applications) not for TikTok.

Given the intrusiveness of social media platforms, I think they would justify having hardware that’s air gapped from their military devices. That way they retain access to their audience, while maintaining security.

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#36

Post by technofiend »

rolltiide wrote: post #24
thrower123 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By now, I'd be relatively certain that all but the absolute blackest sites are mapped comprehensively with publicly available app data.

An American financial service that I had multiple accounts with was just bought by a Chinese organization. There was nothing obscure about the service nor was there publicly available data about my accounts.

I'd say buying Experian is the nightmare scenario but all that data has already leaked. So maybe buying a major US bank like Wells Fargo is the way to go if someone wants more detailed data about American spending habits. I'm sure it's why Google's Project Cache is extending their reach to banking in 2020.

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#37

Post by stan_rogers »

KineticLensman wrote: post #20
aritmo wrote: post #3

This is silly. Do they allow any other social networking apps at all on government-issued phones? edit: tik tok makes sense for recruiting, and apparently it is currently used in the UK.

> apparently it is currently used in the UK There are various stories (the Daily Mail, Reuters, Times, please take your pick) that report that the Army is 'playing with' TikTok to see if it works in recruitment. Those same reports say it is being used by 'The Guards Division'. The British Army doesn't have a 'Guards Division' [0] [0] https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/formations-divisions-brig...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guards_Division

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#38

Post by ralfd »

Trias11 wrote: post #26

Why's "ban" needed? Government should have full control over government issued devices and only whitelisted modifications should be allowed. If it's not this way - someone at government should be held accountable for jeopardizing the security of the nation.

> A Navy spokesman said Naval and Marine personnel who use government issued smart devices are generally allowed to use popular commercial apps, including common social media apps, but from time to time specific programs that present security threats are banned.

Should the Navy whitelist Ebay and Amazon? What about the Walmart app? If Target has one should they then apply to get whitelisted? What about navy personal in other countries with their apps? What about popular app/game xyz? There are a million apps?

If all that has to be whitelisted the buerocratic overhead would be either really cumbersome or the value of an issued device so small, that people would buy and use their own devices anyways.

Re: U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices

#39

Post by [deleted] »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #31
angry_octet wrote: post #21

Doesn't matter, they have it on their personal phone. App security is so bad that you pretty much need to virtualize the phone and feed it fake sensor data. The whole idea of unrestricted network access is stupid.

> The whole idea of unrestricted network access is stupid. I've been coming around to a similar idea. I'd like a setup something like this for my desktop: 1. Some devices representing network connections. One or more are "real"; others may be VPNs. 2. Per-application settings governing which network devices, if any, the application may use. Default to none. For example, the common way to use a VPN is like this: 1. St…

[deleted]
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