As many as 700,000 TikTok accounts in Turkey had been compromised by a hack, weeks before Turkey's authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to gain a slender lead in May re-election, a report in Forbes has claimed.

As many as 700,000 TikTok accounts in Turkey had been compromised by a hack, weeks before Turkey's authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to gain a slender lead in May re-election, a report in Forbes has claimed. The report said that TikTok was informed about the potential vulnerability a year in advance, but did nothing to fix the issue. The ByteDance-owned company used 'greyrouting' of SMS through insecure channels which allowed non-state actors to allegedly gain access to TikTok accounts. In simple terms, greyrouting means using unsecured channels to send SMS text messages. It is done so to bypass fees established by international telecommunications agreements. In April 2022, UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, a division of the intelligence agency GCHQ, wrote an email to TikTok's security chief Roland Cloutier and warned that 'greyrouting' may allow 'SIM farms' in Russia and other countries to request and intercept one-time passwords to gain access to TikTok users’ accounts. According to internal emails, documents, chat logs and other sources, Cloutier’s team initially acted on the tip and found out that TikTok was indeed using greyrouting to keep costs down, the Forbes report claimed. However, the company decided against applying a fix as it would have cost millions of dollars each month, it said. Erdogan government may have benefitted Although it is not clear who exploited the vulnerability, the Forbes report insinuated that the Erdogan administration may have used the situation to its benefit. "Under Erdogan, the Turkish government has a history of using state-sponsored troll networks to hack and intimidate journalists and other critics." Experts cautioned that without proper information, it was hard to know how significant the breach was, at the time. “This could range from a super advanced spam attack to a state actor. If you’d just told me 700,000 accounts, I’d tell you that’s a Wednesday," said Alex Stamos, former security chief for Facebook. Watch | Erdogan reelected as Turkish president × In response, TikTok released a statement saying it took steps to arrest the slide. “TikTok became aware of unusual activity in April that affected the number of likes and accounts being followed on some user accounts. We immediately took steps to reverse and terminate this activity, notified affected users, and helped them secure their accounts," said spokesperson Alex Haurek, adding that TikTok was not 'hacked'. Also read | Rise and rise of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Name etched in gold, but challenges not over In the lead-up to the elections, most poll pundits had not given Erdogan any chance to eke out a victory. However, the 69-year-old emerged as the ultimate political survivor, defeating his secular opposition rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, by four percentage points. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Turkey: 700,000 TikTok accounts were hacked ahead of presidential elections, says report

On Sunday, Turkey held one of the most important elections in the country's modern 100-year history. The pivotal, crucial election could have significant consequences for the country's future, it could extend the current President's two-decade grip on power or put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course. As per preliminary results, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took an early lead.

Turkish state news agency Anadolu showed the incumbent president picking up more than 51 per cent of the vote, while his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu trailed&nbsp;with around 43 per cent.

Anadolu's figures, as per AFP, were based on 60 per cent of the ballots. However, Kilicdaroglu, in a tweet, claimed that his party's own vote count showed him winning.

"We are leading," he wrote.

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Öndeyiz.
— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) <a href="https://twitter.com/kilicdarogluk/status/1657791290833096708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A count by the pro-opposition Anka news site showed that the two leaders were tied, falling just short of the 50-per cent threshold needed to avoid a May 28 runoff.&nbsp;

Both Anka and Anadolu show third-party candidate Sinan Ogan was picking up five per cent of the vote.

Early votes from heavily pro-government districts appeared to be giving Erdogan the lead, but as more ballots were counted, his lead appeared to be shrinking.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/middle-east/turkey-to-vote-in-crucial-election-which-could-unseat-erdogan-after-20-years-592169">Turkey to vote in crucial election today. Will it unseat Erdogan after 20 years?</a>

"We are seeing a positive picture, according to our data," opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesman Faik Oztrak told the press.&nbsp;

He added that they would not release any numbers until the number of opened ballot boxes reach a meaningful level.

"We will start to give the numbers when the number of opened ballot boxes reaches a meaningful level."

Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old opposition leader, had a slight advantage over Erdogan in most pre-election polls.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/middle-east/another-twitter-files-netizens-quip-at-timing-of-elon-musk-blocking-content-in-turkey-592162">Another Twitter Files?: Netizens quip at timing of Elon Musk blocking content in Turkey</a>

Pre-poll predictions also indicated that the former civil servant will win the youth vote, which counts for nearly 10 per cent of the electorate by a two-to-one margin.

As per Reuters, based on partial results, sources from both camps suggest neither of the main contenders will reach the 50 per cent threshold required for an outright win and that Turkish presidential elections will probably head for a runoff vote on May 28th.

The outcome of the presidential vote in Turkey will determine more than just the country's leader. It will also have an impact on the country's governance, the direction of its economy during a period of significant cost-of-living issues, and its foreign policy. With a population of 85 million people, Turkey's importance as a NATO member cannot be understated.

(With inputs from agencies)

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On Sunday, Turkey held one of the most important elections in the country's modern 100-year history. The pivotal, crucial election could have significant consequences for the country's future, it could extend the current President's two-decade grip on power or put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course.

On Sunday, Turkey held one of the most important elections in the country's modern 100-year history. The pivotal, crucial election could have significant consequences for the country's future, it could extend the current President's two-decade grip on power or put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course. As per preliminary results, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took an early lead. Turkish state news agency Anadolu showed the incumbent president picking up more than 51 per cent of the vote, while his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu trailed with around 43 per cent. Anadolu's figures, as per AFP, were based on 60 per cent of the ballots. However, Kilicdaroglu, in a tweet, claimed that his party's own vote count showed him winning. "We are leading," he wrote. Öndeyiz. — Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) May 14, 2023 × A count by the pro-opposition Anka news site showed that the two leaders were tied, falling just short of the 50-per cent threshold needed to avoid a May 28 runoff. Both Anka and Anadolu show third-party candidate Sinan Ogan was picking up five per cent of the vote. Early votes from heavily pro-government districts appeared to be giving Erdogan the lead, but as more ballots were counted, his lead appeared to be shrinking. Also read | Turkey to vote in crucial election today. Will it unseat Erdogan after 20 years? "We are seeing a positive picture, according to our data," opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesman Faik Oztrak told the press. He added that they would not release any numbers until the number of opened ballot boxes reach a meaningful level. "We will start to give the numbers when the number of opened ballot boxes reaches a meaningful level." Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old opposition leader, had a slight advantage over Erdogan in most pre-election polls. Also read | Another Twitter Files?: Netizens quip at timing of Elon Musk blocking content in Turkey Pre-poll predictions also indicated that the former civil servant will win the youth vote, which counts for nearly 10 per cent of the electorate by a two-to-one margin. As per Reuters, based on partial results, sources from both camps suggest neither of the main contenders will reach the 50 per cent threshold required for an outright win and that Turkish presidential elections will probably head for a runoff vote on May 28th. The outcome of the presidential vote in Turkey will determine more than just the country's leader. It will also have an impact on the country's governance, the direction of its economy during a period of significant cost-of-living issues, and its foreign policy. With a population of 85 million people, Turkey's importance as a NATO member cannot be understated. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Turkey Elections 2023 | Erdogan takes an early lead; reports suggest country headed for May 28 runoffs

Recep Tayyip Erdogan loses control of Ankara in Turkish elections