(June 5): Hackers targeted leading brands and celebrities on TikTok, sending a malicious link through private messages to hijack prominent accounts.

The social media service, owned by Bite Dance Limited, said it was taking steps to mitigate the incident and prevent it from happening again. Hackers breached the account of a cable news channel. CNNthe company confirmed, although a spokesperson declined to reveal the full list of accounts that were targeted or compromised.

The extent of the hacking attempt was not immediately clear, though the spokesperson added that “the number of accounts compromised is very small”.

“Our security team is aware of a potential exploit targeting multiple brands and celebrity accounts,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We have taken steps to prevent this attack and prevent it from happening in the future.” We are working directly with affected account owners to restore access if necessary.”

TikTok’s future in the US has emerged as a contentious issue ahead of the US presidential election in November. ByteDance, which is based in China, currently faces a deadline to sell TikTok amid concerns that the government in Beijing could affect TikTok’s algorithm or collect sensitive information about US users. ByteDance has sued the US government to try to stop the forced sales.

More than 170 million Americans use the service every month.