CybersecurityFortnite is setting a dangerous security trend

By Jason Nurse

Cybercriminals have just been given yet another route to get malicious software (malware) onto your personal mobile devices. The hugely popular video game Fortnite has become one of the first major apps to bypass official app stores and encourage users to download its software directly.

In doing so, it’s also bypassing the security protections of the app stores and chipping away at a system that has worked reasonably well at keeping malware off people’s phones and tablets. And we’re already starting to see the dangerous results of this, as Fortnite’s installation method created a security vulnerability that may have opened up some users’ devices to hacking.

Fortnite’s maker, Epic Games, shocked the industry when it announced at the start of August that it would release the app directly to consumers instead of through the official Google Play store (although it’s still available through Apple’s App Store). The firm said this was to create a direct relationship with customers instead of depending on middlemen distributors. Google takes 30 percent of the money paid for any app or in-app purchase in the Play store.

This goes even further than the likes of Netflix, which recently confirmed it was testing a bypass of Apple’s iTunes billing system in 33 markets worldwide. This meant that some subscribers would be unable to pay using iTunes and instead would have to complete payments via Netflix’s website, reducing their engagement with the official Apple store.

Current estimates suggest that in the first half of 2018, users of the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store spent a combined $34.4 billion on mobile apps and games. These official stores still represent the first port-of-call for millions of mobile users, and in return they have come to expect trustworthy, vetted, malware-free, high-quality apps.