In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Health uses Tiktok and provides information there on its own channel.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin Germany’s top cyber security authority has checked the video app Tiktok for risks. The federal administration has the option of having apps checked by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) via a corresponding portal before they are used on company cell phones. “Tiktok has also been tested for the Android and iOS operating systems as part of this offer,” a spokesman for the authority told the Handelsblatt.
“The results of these tests refer to the use of the respective apps on official devices used by the federal administration, for which there are additional IT security requirements.” The BSI did not provide any information on the specific findings of the investigation. The results could only be “made known” to the federal administration.
On Thursday, the EU Commission banned the social media app on the company cell phones of its employees. The video app can also no longer be used on private mobile phones from March 15 if apps from the EU Commission are also used on the device.
A spokeswoman for the Commission gave the reason for security concerns. The measure is provisional and should be reviewed regularly. Tiktok belongs to the Chinese Bytedance group. The platform has long been accused of insufficient data security. It is feared, for example, that the Chinese state could have access to the data. Tiktok denies that.
The BSI generally points out that numerous apps transmit data to the respective manufacturers as well as to third parties. “From a technical point of view, misuse of this data, such as movement data, cannot be ruled out,” said the spokesman for the authorities. “This should always be taken into account when using corresponding apps and weighed up according to the purpose of use.” In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Health uses Tiktok and provides information there on its own channel.
SPD also sees risks in smartphones from Chinese suppliers
The SPD digital politician Jens Zimmermann criticizes the fact that each authority and ministry decides for itself whether to use apps on company cell phones. The fact that “no separate release” has to be given by the BSI, for example, “I think is fundamentally problematic, even regardless of the use of Tiktok,” said Zimmermann to the Handelsblatt.
The BSI points out that it cannot legally ban apps for the federal administration. “According to local knowledge, there are currently no general guidelines for the use of TikTok on service devices of the federal administration,” added the spokesman. “Federal authorities are responsible for deciding which apps they allow on service devices in their area of responsibility.”
Zimmerman considers the sole “app testing” by the BSI to be insufficient. In the contracting authorities, “a political assessment must also be carried out, for example by secret security officers, as to whether an app from non-democratic countries should be used,” said the SPD politician.
>> Read the comment here: More deterrence against China is needed
In addition, Zimmermann advises generally only installing business-related applications on company cell phones. This includes Tiktok only “in absolute exceptional cases”. “In this respect, I can only urgently recommend that all authorities issue clear regulations for the use of company cell phones,” added the digital politician. “The uncontrolled installation of apps is a potentially very critical attack vector.”
The danger that Tiktok could possibly pose “cannot be precisely assessed at the moment,” said Zimmermann. To his knowledge, there are currently no known cases of information leakage to government agencies in China. “However, this can potentially change for Chinese companies at any time, since the companies cannot, of course, defend themselves against instructions from the Chinese government,” the SPD MP pointed out.
Nevertheless, “it tends to fall short to concentrate on a single app,” says Zimmermann. “In my view, the same risks also apply to smartphones from Chinese suppliers, for example.”
More: Federal data protection officer prohibits federal government from operating Facebook page