EDITORIAL — Cyber security threats

Some experts have warned that cyberspace will be a key arena in the next wars. Even if no shooting war erupts, there is growing concern in several governments about the security of their cyber networks. Such concerns have led a number of US states to ban the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. The issue, as a Philippine security official has pointed out, deserves serious discussion among policy makers.

Popular video-sharing app TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance, and is therefore obligated under Chinese laws to provide data from its users to the Chinese government upon Beijing’s request. The US states invoked the risk of TikTok being used for cyber espionage and information manipulation. Florida was the first state to impose a ban in 2020, with other states following suit.

In January this year, Ohio banned the use on state-owned devices not only of TikTok, but also other China-based apps and websites including Tencent, Weibo, WeChat and DingTalk. In the same month, New Jersey banned the use on government-issued devices of “high-risk software” including TikTok, Alibaba and WeChat.

Similar bans have been imposed on TikTok use by the European Commission, NATO, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Norway, Somalia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands has a milder version of the prohibition. Afghanistan imposed a ban in April last year, but mainly because the Taliban considered TikTok content “not consistent with Islamic laws.”

In the Philippines, the assistant director general of the National Security Council, Jonathan Malaya, said a similar ban on TikTok use on government devices by armed personnel and the security sector deserves serious consideration. Certain cyber experts are also recommending a prohibition on the use of streaming app Zoom in sensitive government discussions. Zoom, whose CEO and largest shareholder is a Chinese man who moved to Silicon Valley in 1997, has denied that it is a Chinese company.

Last month, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said intelligence information indicated that “almost all” Philippine institutions and communication systems “have been severely compromised” and are vulnerable to cyber attack. The US is sending experts to assist the Philippines in countering the threat, Romualdez said.

Alarm bells have been sounded in many parts of the world. In the Philippines, the threat calls for a timely and appropriate response.