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Blocking Tiktok via Firewall Application Control and Endpoint Application and Web policies

DavidSain

Defense contractors and others with government contracts are now required to block access to TikTok.  We have a number of customers that fit into this category.

Sophos has long had Musical.ly as an available application to block in SF, even in the last couple of days. As of today, now it can be found in the application Filter as TikTok instead of Musical.ly. Same thing, different name.  Not sure why it was called Musical.ly in the first place. but now it's much more clear.

My employer sent me a firewall for my home-office as I'm remote. since I'm trying to resolve this for our customers, I'm applying it to myself. I created a new Application filter named Block level 5 and TikTok.  I added TikTok Deny Always..



Here I have the Application Control applied to my LAN to WAN rule.

And Here is TikTok running on Windows just fine.



Sophos endpoint will block the website easily enough. I've actually added all the IP addresses, subnets, and FQDNs from the Netify page and from SonicWall's document for blocking TikTok.  Here you can see a Web policy (which works) and a Application control policy for BlueStacks.  There is no application control for TikTok or Windows Subsystem for Android.

It still runs. Packet Capture shows traffic to an IP that resolves as an Akamai server.  Akamai serves a lot of streaming media so we can't just block them.

TikTok is like some crazy virus that works around every effort to block it.  

Support on ticket 06916584  wants me to submit the executables to Sophos, but not understanding the Microsoft Store doesn't do exe files like the olden days of Windows.  Now they are packaged in a different way now and are placed in a folder inaccessible, even to local admin.  Unless one wishes to take ownership from Trusted Installer and see what happens for C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/microsoft-store-downloads-folder/cc682ce8-6e1e-404e-a27e-a543e3afac7f

BlueStacks is another Android emulator and that's why the Application control policy for it.  Does nothing to stop BlueStacks 5 and BlueStacks X from loading but looks pretty in Central.

How do we stop this scourge?

Thanks!

David

Sophos Firewall Architect 18-19.5
Sophos Firewall Engineer 16.0-19.5
Sophos Firewall Technician 18-19.5
Sophos Central and Endpoint Engineer 3.0-4.0
Sophos Central and Endpoint Architect 3.0-4.0
Among others...



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  • +1

    Hello  ,

    Good day and  thanks for reaching out to Sophos Community.

    Upon simulating, I managed to block Tiktok on Web and Mobile  (On Sophos Firewall) using the following instructions from this past thread:

     How to block Tiktok App  (I followed this plainly, even w/o SSL/TLS inspection it was able to stop Tiktok from running on my Windows laptop and Android, iOs device)

     i can't block tiktok app 

    I am yet to test if Tiktok would be blocked if it is embedded to another allowed website e.g. Facebook. 

    Many thanks for your time and patience and thank you for choosing Sophos

    Raphael Alganes
    Community Support Engineer | Sophos Technical Support
    Sophos Support Videos | Product Documentation  |  @SophosSupport  | Sign up for SMS Alerts
    If a post solves your question use the 'Verify Answer' link.

  • 0 in reply to Raphael Alganes

    Hi Raphael,

    After resetting the rule in the firewall, TikTok is blocked on mobile devices as long as they are behind the firewall. Application Control apparently works without all the Netify IP addresses and FQDNs. 

    As IP addresses are subject to change, using the Netify method is a temporary brute-force method.

    In the Firewall, last week, in Application Control, one could apply musical.ly without effect, but this week it's now TikTok (Musical.ly is nowhere to be found in Application filter) and seems to work better.  An update must have come through.

    Because I have an endpoint rule to block all of the Netify and SonicWall addresses/hosts/subnets, the embedded web links are blocked for Windows. 

    I imagine building out the list of Netify and SonicWall addresses into the Firewall will help also.  It stinks that one has to do so much work to block one app/site.  Have to block the application, have to block the web with ~100 entries.  So users that are mobile with Windows are controlled, have to build it out in Central, then for devices that are mobile, an MDM solution needs to be in place with the same repetition.  

    Then repeat for every one of our customers that needs this.

    Sophos Firewall Engineer 16.0, 16.5, 17.0, 17.1, 17.5, 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Firewall Architect 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Firewall Technician 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Central & Endpoint Architect 3.0, 4.0
    Sophos Central Email v2.0
    Sophos Mobile v9.6
    Sophos ZTNA 1.0, 2.0
    Synchronized Security Accredited
    Sophos Gold Partner

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  • 0 in reply to Raphael Alganes

    Hi Raphael,

    After resetting the rule in the firewall, TikTok is blocked on mobile devices as long as they are behind the firewall. Application Control apparently works without all the Netify IP addresses and FQDNs. 

    As IP addresses are subject to change, using the Netify method is a temporary brute-force method.

    In the Firewall, last week, in Application Control, one could apply musical.ly without effect, but this week it's now TikTok (Musical.ly is nowhere to be found in Application filter) and seems to work better.  An update must have come through.

    Because I have an endpoint rule to block all of the Netify and SonicWall addresses/hosts/subnets, the embedded web links are blocked for Windows. 

    I imagine building out the list of Netify and SonicWall addresses into the Firewall will help also.  It stinks that one has to do so much work to block one app/site.  Have to block the application, have to block the web with ~100 entries.  So users that are mobile with Windows are controlled, have to build it out in Central, then for devices that are mobile, an MDM solution needs to be in place with the same repetition.  

    Then repeat for every one of our customers that needs this.

    Sophos Firewall Engineer 16.0, 16.5, 17.0, 17.1, 17.5, 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Firewall Architect 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Firewall Technician 18.0, 18.5, 19.0, 19.5, 20.0
    Sophos Central & Endpoint Architect 3.0, 4.0
    Sophos Central Email v2.0
    Sophos Mobile v9.6
    Sophos ZTNA 1.0, 2.0
    Synchronized Security Accredited
    Sophos Gold Partner

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