Posted on August 28, 2018 at 3:52 PM
Fortnite Malware Nightmare
Fortnite, a widely popular game created by Epic designs has recently released a new mobile application, but for those of you that are Android users, you may have a #fortnitenightmare in your pocket. When this game was released in March through the Epic Games installer application, a serious issue arose. For several months, the application may have been used by hackers to steal millions of users personal information and data.
Has your information been hacked?
The first version of the Fortnite Mobile for Android may have exposed personal information of millions of users to hackers. This is a serious problem for these users. Android users would have had to download the Fortnite application from Epic Games own launcher, completely avoiding the Google Play Store.
When a user makes a request to download the Fortnite application from the Epic Games installer, a hacker is able to seize control of the request to download. This technique is called the “man-in-the-disk” attack. It is effective for hackers to use because instead of downloading the application that you wanted, the user ends up with malware, and once this is installed the malware is launched when the game is opened and this is when hackers can steal your personal information.
But what is the kicker? Hackers can do all of this without you even noticing.
Is your information safe?
Luckily, Epic Games fixed this vulnerability within 48 hours of being notified by Google. All Fortnite Mobile users now just have to update their installer to the 2.1.0 version, which is a simple fix. To check, look at what version you have through the settings of the application. If you still have an earlier version downloaded, make sure that you uninstall that application and install the newest version.
If you want to be extra safe, then you can take advantage of the Google Play Protect services and check for any installed malware. The advantage of Google Play Protect is that it will automatically remove applications with suspected malware or vulnerabilities – keeping your information 100% safe. Google takes it security systems seriously, and unfortunately, because Epic Games decided to have a separate installer from Google Play, this vulnerability was more likely to happen.
How was the situation handled?
The application was released in March and Google found that the Fortnite application had the potential for hackers to steal millions of users personal information. Google quickly addressed this concern by contacting Epic Games and within 48 hours the concerns and problems with the application were resolved. Embarrassed, Epic Games made a request to Google to keep the whole situation hush for 90 days so that Android owners had the ability to update their applications.
But, Google has a policy that when they discover the possibility of user personal information at risk, they will publish all the information about the details of the vulnerability. In this case, Google denied the request made by Epic Games and published the information about this vulnerability right away.
Now, the Fortnite Mobile application is safe to use on Android, but only if it is the 2.1.0 version.