TikTok denies reports that it’s been hacked

Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is denying reports that it was breached after a hacking group posted images of what they claim is a TikTok database that contains the platform's source code. The team at TikTok found no evidence of a security breech.

According to Bleeping Computer, hackers said they obtained the data from a server used by TikTok. It claims the server has over 2 billion records and 790 billion worth of data.

The data samples in question are all publicly accessible and are not the result of a compromise of TikTok systems, networks, or databases, according to a statement from the company's spokesman. Users don't need to take any proactive actions, and we are committed to the safety and security of our global community.

This is so far pretty inconclusive; some data matches production info, albeit publicly accessible info. Some data is junk, but it could be non-production or test data. It's a bit of a mixed bag so far.

— Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) September 5, 2022

The data appears to have been public-facing. Troy Hunt, a regional director at Microsoft and the creator of the Have I Been Pwned tool, said that the data could be non-production or test data.

The group that calls themselves Against TheWest claims to have obtained data from the Chinese messaging app. Hunt couldn't confirm if the hackers' database contained stolen information, and WeChat didn't reply to the request.

The parent company of TikTok is based in China. TikTok has taken several steps, such as housing American data onOracle's US-based server, in an attempt to reverse reports about TikTok employees in China accessing US users' information