TikTok recently dealt with a security breach in which hackers reportedly targeted well-known brands and celebrities on the platform.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (June 4) that hackers sent malicious links via private messages to take over key accounts on the ByteDance-owned social media platform.
The intruders were reportedly successful in breaking into the account of cable news channel CNN. A full list of targeted or compromised accounts has not been made public, but TikTok has said the number of compromised accounts was relatively small.
“We prevented this attack and have taken steps to prevent this from happening in the future,” a TikTok spokesperson was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “We are working directly with affected account holders to help restore access where necessary.”
The report comes at a time when TikTok is facing new legislation in the US that gives China-based ByteDance 12 months to sell its stake in TikTok or risk the platform being shut down.
The law, signed into law by President Joe Biden in April, is supported by those who say the threat of a ban is necessary to address national security concerns about the platform.
ByteDance announced shortly after the law was signed that it would not sell TikTok and would fight the law in U.S. courts.
“Rest assured, we're not going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shaw Zhu Chiu said in a video posted to TikTok on April 24. “We remain confident and will continue to fight for your rights in court, with the facts and the Constitution on our side.”
Reports of the TikTok hack come at a time when several other companies have also been targeted by cyber attacks.
Ticket sales company Live Nation announced on Friday (May 31) that its Ticketmaster system may have been breached by hackers who are attempting to sell customer information on the dark web.
Also in May, auction house Christie's was reported to have been the victim of a cyber attack in which details of collectors and geolocation data of art pieces were stolen, affecting an estimated 500,000 customers.
On Thursday (May 30), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called on the Biden administration to investigate a recent cybersecurity incident at UnitedHealth Group.
