Do you have access to intellectual property? Be wary of TikTok, says cyber security expert

Anyone who has access to intellectual property should be careful with apps like TikTok, according to chief financial officer at Laurentian University.

On March 16 the City of Greater Sudbury followed the lead of other municipalities, and the federal government, by banning TikTok on employees' work phones.

"This policy is a precaution and is intended to protect the cybersecurity of the organization and all staff," said city spokesperson Riley Adams in an email to CBC News.

"The City of Greater Sudbury did not have a TikTok account and engagement with residents on social media platforms will not be impacted by this decision."

Luc Roy, Laurentian University's chief information officer, said concerns around TikTok stem from its Chinese ownership.

Whether someone should be worried about the app, depends on what they do for a living, and who they know, he added.

"Really you have to ask yourself, well, why would a foreign entity, a foreign government, want to have access to me?" he said.

Roy said for universities like Laurentian, there are concerns around protecting intellectual property from being stolen.

"You would probably do a lot of things to have access to intellectual property that would allow you to move forward faster," he said.

Roy said intellectual property around technology, mining, medicine and agriculture is of a high value to state actors.

He said if people want to steal that information, they can also get it from close connections. So if they can't connect with the researcher directly, maybe they can reach a friend or family member.

But despite that risk, Laurentian hasn't banned TikTok.

"We don't want to force people not to use it," Roy said.

"We just want to educate people of, you know, who you are and why would there be interest in having access to your contacts, not just your content."