Goodbye to TikTok on AU phones
Aarhus University follows advice from the National Centre for Cyber Security and asks staff to delete TikTok from their AU mobile devices no later than 31 March.
The Centre for Cyber Security (CFCS) advises against employees in government institutions and agencies using TikTok on their work mobile devices and the senior management team at Aarhus University has decided to follow this advice.
Furthermore, it is not allowed to access AU data from private phones which have TikTok installed.
“It’s very rare that we receive such a direct recommendation from the Centre for Cyber Security to stop using a specific app. TikTok has been assessed as a potential security risk, because it’s unclear how the massive amount of data it collects is being used,” says deputy director of AU IT Peter Bruun Nielsen.
In practice, this means that:
- If you have a work mobile phone or tablet, you must ensure that TikTok is removed from this device. You must do this as soon as possible – and no later than 31 March.
- If you have a private mobile phone or tablet on which you’d like to use TikTok, you must ensure that this device does not have access to AU data, such as AU email, Teams or OneDrive. You must do this as soon as possible – and no later than 31 March.
Until recently, AU was conducting a pilot project to assess whether TikTok could be a good communication platform to recruit students. This project is now over, and AU will no longer have a TikTok presence.
Background on the CFCS advice
According to the CFCS, which is a unit under the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and, as a Chinese company, ByteDance is subject to China’s security legislation, which gives government institutions and agencies the power to gather data from Chinese businesses.
Read the recommendation by the Centre for Cyber Security (In Danish only)
The Centre for Cyber Security also believes that TikTok’s privacy policy allows the app to collect a wide range of data and to connect this data to the user’s identity. Some of this data could even be used for espionage.
Any questions?
Do you need help deleting TikTok from your work device or blocking access to AU systems on your private device? Contact your local IT support team.