TikTok – a video-sharing-focused social networking service, has declared Dublin to be the first location to establish a cybersecurity center to assist the business in reacting to security conflicts in real-time.
TikTok’s chief security officer, Roland Cloutier, said the following:
“When people use TikTok, we know they’re entrusting us with their data, and we take our duty to protect that data very seriously,” he said. “Our global security organization operates a ‘follow the Sun’ approach so that people on teams around the world are always focused on protecting people’s information and ensuring that our next-generation entertainment platform can anticipate and stay ahead of next-generation security threats.”
The new cybersecurity center is expected to offer 50+ jobs in the security and privacy sector. While the hiring has already started, the focus is on procuring people with different skill sets and expertise in solving “complex security challenges”.
According to Roland Cloutier, the new center would “advance their on-platform threat detection to protect their community; expedite the delivery of next-generation cyber-threat monitoring, and congregate cyber inquiries and working groups to tackle digital crime”.
He also said that the cybersecurity center would play a “vital role” in helping the business “recognize, assess and eradicate risks” concerning the service and users.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Tánaiste (Deputy Head of Government), said:
“I’m really pleased TikTok has chosen Dublin as the location for its first regional ‘fusion centre. This announcement underlines the company’s continued commitment to our country and will allow it to continue to benefit from our rich and highly skilled talent pool. I wish the team at TikTok the very best in their expansion plans.”
In August 2020, TikTok declared to construct a new data center in Ireland worth $500m (£375m). It was devoted to storing videos, messages, and other various data generated by TikTok users. Till now, all of the data was being stored in the United States.
However, TikTok was experiencing compulsion from former US President Donald Trump, who was focused on carrying out war against TikTok. His actions were influenced by the assumption that ByteDance – TikTok’s parent company is a risk to national security.
In August 2020, Trump signed an administrative order that banned all forms of business with ByteDance, alleging that the Chinese app was a threat to state security, international policy and the United States economy.
With a frequent recording of personal information such as user’s address book, age, GPS coordinates, IP address, device information and other unique identifiers by TikTok, many cyber-security experts hold concern about this social networking service.
Security Tips When Using Your TikTok Account
With cybersecurity threats on the rise, one can never be too sure about online security. Check out some essential security tips to safeguard your personal information while using TikTok.
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- Enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) on your TikTok account for additional security and privacy.
- Disable password saving by de-selecting the “save login info” option under “manage my account.”
- Always keep an eye on the devices your TikTok account is logged on. Tap on “manage devices” to see which phones your TikTok account is logged in and immediately log out from any unrecognized device.
- Make your TikTok account private by going to “discoverability” and enabling the “private account” option.
- Use a strongly encrypted VPN provider that will aid you in concealing your actual IP address and location when using TikTok.
