Google is irresponsible claims Fortnite’s chief in bug row

The leader of the firm behind the hit game Fortnite has accused Google of being “irresponsible” in the way it revealed a flaw affecting the Android version of the title.

On Friday, Google made public that hackers could hijack the game’s installation software to load malware.

The installer is needed because Epic Games has bypassed Google’s app store to avoid giving it a cut of sales.

Epic’s chief executive said Google should have delayed sharing the news.

“We asked Google to hold the disclosure until the update was more widely installed,” tweeted Tim Sweeney.

“They refused, creating an unnecessary risk for Android users in order to score cheap PR points.”

A spokesman for Google declined to comment.

Google has been criticised in the past by Microsoft for sharing details of vulnerabilities in the Windows-maker’s products before they had been addressed.

The Android developer’s security team has also caught out Apple and Samsung in a similar manner.

But in this case, one independent cyber-security expert said Epic was responsible for getting into this situation.

“People will argue until the cows come home the a period is either too long or not long enough depending on which side you’re on,” commented Troy Hunt.

“I’m still surprised Epic didn’t put it in the Play Store to begin with – and yes, I get the financial incentive.”

Google’s terms dictate that Epic would have had to have handed over 30% of its in-game fees.

The developer has, however, agreed to such terms on Apple’s equivalent app store since iPhones are restricted from adding software from elsewhere.

Fast fix

According to Google’s documentation, its security team shared a screen recording with Epic on 15 August demonstrating a way to fool the games’ Android installer into loading malware.

Epic responded two days later saying that it was…