Will TikTok Get Banned?
Two years ago, I created a TikTok account to help promote an I.T. career program at the I.T. vocational school where I ran a business. We gained a lot of interest in our program within the first week of posting our first video. Right after seeing the success of our TikTok account, news broke out about it being a potential national security threat. After the initial news of the danger, the U.S. government banned the app on government-owned devices. Then, U.S. lawmakers started talking about banning the app from the whole country.
Once the conversation about banning TikTok began, our I.T. career school leaders decided to take down our account. Our school’s founder and executive officers (including me) were all U.S. military cybersecurity professionals before we re-entered the civilian workforce. So, we knew how risky using TikTok was once it was revealed the servers were in China. The decision to delete our account was based on how can we call ourselves cybersecurity professionals if we use an app that is a known security risk to promote our business. As much as it hurt, we stopped using the app.
The U.S. Starts Getting Serious
Some time passed since TikTok made the news, and then U.S. lawmakers started talking seriously about banning the app from the whole country. This sparked the conversation in the video below with my colleague Mr. Joseph “The Cyber Coach” Jackson in the video below.
U.S. House Votes for TikTok to Divest or Get Banned
After a year and some change, the TikTok threat buzz died. Two years later, the U.S. House voted 352-62 that TikTok must divest (sell) its U.S. assets to a U.S. company or face being blocked. This news reignited the TikTok ban buzz and sparked my reaction video below.
The news of the potential ban was so impactful that I also had a live video chat with my colleague, Mr. Cory Alvarez, from C.O.R.E. Ent.
At the time of this post, the TikTok bill has to pass the Senate before it can be passed to the president. I’ll post another post to share my insights once the final decision is made.
Why This Topic Matters
As a cybersecurity professional, you must protect your customers and employers from threats. If customer data is leaked because of a data breach, they can become victims of identity theft. Depending on the situation, victims of identity theft can face financial hardships while they recover from the attack.
Companies have intellectual property and proprietary business processes that generate revenue. If this data gets stolen and leads to companies losing money, people can lose their jobs. If people start losing jobs, the unemployment rate will increase, negatively impacting the overall economy.
In TikTok’s case, people supporting U.S. government missions must be aware of the threats associated with the app to mitigate the risks. For example, in my current role, I support a government customer. All traffic to and from China is blocked in the firewall. The TikTok app has also been banned on government devices for a couple of years.
The TikTok issue is relevant to the industry I support. As you grow into your cybersecurity career, you must be aware of the threats in your industry. Awareness of these threats allows you to protect your customers and maximize your earning potential.
