

Another approach would be to jailbreak a phone to override any operating-system or app restrictions and install TikTok and WeChat outside of usual methods.īoth approaches could expose devices to other security issues, Kennedy said. One method would be to use a virtual private network (VPN) to appear be online in another country that hasn’t banned the apps. residents who might try to circumvent the ban. There are other ways TikTok and WeChat users can put themselves at risk. “TikTok and many other organizations use third party libraries and other pieces of code, and there’s vulnerabilities that happen all the time … as TikTok gets older and older, because you can’t update, the larger percentage chance you have of critical exposures not being addressed.” Also an issue: VPNs and jailbreaking By blocking updates, you’re going to preclude TikTok from addressing security issues and vulnerabilities,” Kennedy, who previously worked at the National Security Agency, told CyberScoop. “As code progresses, security vulnerabilities and security issues come into play. The ban won’t eliminate the apps on current users’ devices - it will just restrict access to the two products in app stores. After Sunday, when some of the restrictions are slated to take effect, TikTok and WeChat will progressively become riskier and riskier, said Dave Kennedy, the chief technology officer and co-founder of Ohio-based Binary Defense.
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“The order … harms the privacy and security of millions of existing TikTok and WeChat users in the United States by blocking software updates, which can fix vulnerabilities and make the apps more secure,” the Director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, Hina Shamsi, said in a statement. WeChat has also had to address several flaws in the last year. Updates, of course, provide security fixes and not just new features. In just the last year, TikTok has had to issue multiple patches for vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to capture users’ data without their permission or send them malicious links, for instance. Cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates said Friday that TikTok and WeChat users should probably stop using the applications in the coming days, given that the Trump administration’s new ban on them will effectively block users from downloading updates.
