A hacker claimed that he was able to obtain information from the TikTok user. However, the company has stated that they have not discovered any evidence of a data breach.
According to the hacker AgainstTheWest, known as AgainstTheWest, they were able to access the personal information of over a billion TikTok members, including their PayPal information.
According to a direct message the company sent to Insider, BeeHive Cybersecurity, a cybersecurity research firm, found AgainstTheWest’s hacking claims “credible.” BeeHive Cybersecurity also claimed that the hacker has earned the respect of the professional cybersecurity community.
On the other hand, there has been resistance to the idea that the infringement is, in fact, valid.
BreachForums, the breach detection platform where AgainstTheWest did the original breach disclosure, had a moderator claim that AgainstTheWest has a “long history of lying about breaches and more.”
However, TikTok seems to agree that the data leak reports are false.
In a statement provided to Insider, a TikTok spokesperson stated:
“Our security team has not detected any indication of a security compromise. It has been established beyond doubt that the data samples in question are all publicly available and are not the result of a breach of any systems, networks or TikTok databases. The samples appear to include data from one or more independent third-party sources not associated with TikTok. Although we do not feel that users are obligated to take preventive measures, we remain dedicated to the health and safety of our global community.
BeeHive CyberSecurity tweeted, advising TikTok users to change their passwords and set up two-factor authentication to protect their information. This advice comes despite TikTok saying users don’t need to take any precautionary measures.
The alleged leak comes as TikTok is under intense scrutiny for its cybersecurity practices. A security researcher found code in the social media app that allows TikTok to track users’ keystrokes, including passwords and credit card numbers. As a result, the app has been accused of spying on users of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, about a month after the code was discovered by the researcher. TikTok has stated that it does not spy on its users and does not share any information about its users with Chinese authorities.