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FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

blog.malwarebytes.com

51–60 of 899 posts

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#51
post #10

I don't have a horse in this race at all, but the annoying part is that the same rules don't get applied across the board. Everything they're accusing TikTok of - from data harvesting to the government having access to said data - is true for western companies as well and that should be the problem. Not the fact that the data is now in the hands of the Chinese but that the data is being collected at all provided to t…

> but don't argue that the practice suddenly becomes problematic when others do it. The extent to which it's problematic depends on who's doing it, even if all cases are problematic.

Ironically I think you can make a pretty strong case that both the Chinese and American governments are more of a threat to their own citizens data wise given that citizens tend to primarily be pestered within their own jurisdiction.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could argue that a data hoarder in a jurisdiction other than your own is even less significant for personal data security. I agree though that western companies more or less don't have any case here as they behave the same way as TikTok in China. They are just less dishonest about it. Furthermore the behavior of intelligence agencies sanctioned this kind of surveillance. Ironically the decreased trust will be vas…

> You could argue that a data hoarder in a jurisdiction other than your own is even less significant for personal data security. I kinda feel this way. On a national security level, China having everyone's data is absolutely a disaster. But on a personal level - if I lived in the United States, I would rather the Chinese government surveil me than the US government.

They aren’t just going to surveil you though. They will actively work to promote disinformation to you.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#53
post #10

I don't have a horse in this race at all, but the annoying part is that the same rules don't get applied across the board. Everything they're accusing TikTok of - from data harvesting to the government having access to said data - is true for western companies as well and that should be the problem. Not the fact that the data is now in the hands of the Chinese but that the data is being collected at all provided to t…

100% agree with this.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#54
The thing people are missing when they say "naturally foreign government collecting data is a security risk" - is that by US openly admitting this - they are signaling to all other countries allowing US tech companies to operate there that they should be firewalling because it is a security risk.

World is > US and China, Europe, SA, Africa, the rest of Asia - this is a clear cut message "you need to have your social networking in-country to prevent others from compromising you".

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#55
post #10

I don't have a horse in this race at all, but the annoying part is that the same rules don't get applied across the board. Everything they're accusing TikTok of - from data harvesting to the government having access to said data - is true for western companies as well and that should be the problem. Not the fact that the data is now in the hands of the Chinese but that the data is being collected at all provided to t…

Obviously the FCC, being under the US government, does not care that your data is being collected by the US government

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#56
post #10

I don't have a horse in this race at all, but the annoying part is that the same rules don't get applied across the board. Everything they're accusing TikTok of - from data harvesting to the government having access to said data - is true for western companies as well and that should be the problem. Not the fact that the data is now in the hands of the Chinese but that the data is being collected at all provided to t…

"I don't have a horse in this race, but (impassioned rant about what the horses should do, which ones should win or lose, and why...)"

As consumers, we do have a horse in the race. I would cheer for the horse with fewer regulations, but that's just me...

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#57
post #40

However putting this data in the hands of FAANG is no problem at all, and totally can't end up in any nefarious hands.

Help me understand your perspective: are you American or no? I have a hard time understanding why an American wouldn't see FAANG as the lesser of two evils here.

Because the biggest threat to you is your own government, not one half a world away.

The Chinese government isn't going to use nefariously collected data about you in order to get a search warrant or something. The American one is.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#58
post #10

I don't have a horse in this race at all, but the annoying part is that the same rules don't get applied across the board. Everything they're accusing TikTok of - from data harvesting to the government having access to said data - is true for western companies as well and that should be the problem. Not the fact that the data is now in the hands of the Chinese but that the data is being collected at all provided to t…

American companies working against national security will be held accountable. A Chinese companh working against american national security will be celebrated at home instead.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#59
post #40

However putting this data in the hands of FAANG is no problem at all, and totally can't end up in any nefarious hands.

Help me understand your perspective: are you American or no? I have a hard time understanding why an American wouldn't see FAANG as the lesser of two evils here.

Conversely, if you're an American in America who doesn't travel abroad what is the threat TikTok poses when compared to the FAANGs? Given the cozy relationship between the US and FAANGs I think it's possible to argue that unfettered government access to FAANG data is more of a threat (to the average US citizen) when compared to the Chinese government having access to your user data via TikTok. But I'm not set on any of this and would like to understand more.

Re: FCC: TikTok is unacceptable security risk and should be removed from app stores

#60
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC you can use the android shared webview to determine if a site is in cache on the system by measuring access times.

Sounds similar to a timing attack[0] 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timing_attack

Very similar... Inferring data through response time.
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