Privacy and Security of mobile apps and social media: RRC Polytech prohibits TikTok on College Funded mobile devices
Based on the advice of our government and security partners RRC Polytech has made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok on all College provided and College funded mobile devices, effective immediately.
We recommend that staff and students take action regarding their online privacy and security, including a) reviewing their privacy settings and sharing behaviour on social media; b) reviewing the apps used on their mobile devices in terms of the personal data those apps collect and share; and c) discontinue using apps that demand too much personal information, including TikTok.
Message to All Staff
RRC Polytech’s IT Security and Privacy teams regularly receive information from our Government and security partners about cyber threats and risks to the college. The Government of Canada and subsequently, the Government of Manitoba have recently banned the social media app TikTok citing concerns over excessive collection of personal information by TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. While this decision is deemed precautionary, they described the level of risk posed as “unacceptable”.
RRC Polytech takes the advice and recommendations from Government and our security partners seriously. We have made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok from all College provided and College funded mobile devices, effective immediately. We are also recommending that staff consider removing TikTok from their personal mobile devices.
If you use a College owned or College funded mobile device, you must remove TikTok. For clarity, TikTok is not prohibited on college laptops and desktop computers. Instructors who need to use TikTok for teaching and learning, where accessing TikTok using a browser on a computer is insufficient, should reach out to CLPE or me to discuss other options.
Instructions for app removal on mobile devices:
If you require additional assistance, please contact our ITS Service Desk servicedesk@rrc.ca or by calling 204-632-2125
As we become increasingly more dependent on the many benefits of technology for entertainment, education, research, and outreach, it’s critical that everyone understands the risk and implications of the apps we use, particularly as it relates to our personal and College information.
Social media and instant messaging services such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and WeChat (to name but a few) give us the power to connect with others effortlessly and share information instantly. But using these services can grant providers easy access to our personal data and information about us, making us vulnerable to social-engineering attacks and putting our online identities, and those of our friends and family, at risk. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves and one another.
In deciding what apps to use, you should consider the functionality of the service, what information is collected about you and your activity, how secure and private your information and online activity will be, and how companies will use and share the information they collect about you.
- Do your research to determine whether an app or platform is trustworthy.
- Find and read the terms of use and the privacy and data policies.
- Consider where your data is being stored, who has access, and how it’s being used.
- Choose security and privacy over convenience.
If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product! Advertisers pay for your use of these platforms. They collect your demographic and computer information, internet behavior, interests, and values so they can target their marketing or sell that information to others to use.
We encourage you to constantly evaluate your activity on all of your social media accounts, including updating and managing your privacy settings and limiting the amount of personal information that you share. Pay attention to what data an app has access to and don’t use apps that demand too much access. Protect your accounts with Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and don’t cross-share passwords.
For more info: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Protect how you connect
RRC Polytech’s IT policies and procedures incorporate best practices to detect, mitigate and protect against cyber security threats, but our staff and students are the first line of defense, and we must all work together to ensure our information and systems remain safe and secure.
Thank you for doing your part in keeping us all safe!
Adam Gerhard, Chief Information Officer
Message to All Students
This week, Red River College Polytechnic made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok from all College provided and College funded mobile devices used by staff and faculty and is recommending that students learn more about the risks and consider removing TikTok from their personal mobile devices.
RRC Polytech is following the advice of the Government of Canada and Government of Manitoba, who took similar action to remove TikTok given the ongoing concerns regarding the excessive collection of personal information by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
RRC Polytech takes the advice and recommendations from Government and our security partners seriously, and while this decision is precautionary, the level of risk posed has been described as “unacceptable”.
While we are encouraging students to consider removing the TikTok app from their personal mobile devices, it is important to reinforce how critical it is that everyone understands the risk and implications of all the apps we use, particularly as it relates to our personal and College information. As we become increasingly more dependent on the many benefits of technology for entertainment, education, research, and outreach, everyone must make cyber security a priority.
Social media and instant messaging services such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and WeChat (to name but a few) give us the power to connect with others effortlessly and share information instantly. But using these services grant providers easy access to our personal data and information about us, making us vulnerable to social-engineering attacks and putting our online identities and those of our friends and family at risk. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves and one another.
In deciding what apps to use, you should consider the functionality of the service, how secure and private your information and online activity will be, and how companies will use and share the information they collect about you.
- Do your research to determine whether an app or platform is trustworthy.
- Find and read the terms of use and the privacy and data policies.
- Consider where your data is being stored, who has access, and how it’s being used.
- Choose security and privacy over convenience.
If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product! Advertisers pay for your use of these platforms. They collect your demographic and computer information, internet behavior, interests, and values so they can target their marketing or sell that information to others to use.
We encourage you to constantly evaluate your activity on all of your social media accounts, including updating and managing your privacy settings and limiting the amount of personal information that you share. Pay attention to what data an app has access to and don’t use apps that demand too much access. Protect your accounts with Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and don’t cross-share passwords.
For more info: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Protect how you connect
For help removing apps, please use the following instructions:
RRC Polytech’s IT policies and procedures incorporate best practices to detect, mitigate and protect against cyber security threats, but our staff and students are the first line of defense, and we must all work together to ensure our information and systems remain safe and secure.
Thank you for doing your part in keeping us all safe!
Adam Gerhard, Chief Information Officer