Google Play store app uploads stalled by hacker
Turkish hacker admits responsibility for stopping developers from uploading new apps and updates.
A Turkish hacker has claimed responsibility for an attack that's stopped developers across the globe uploading new apps and updates to the Google Play store.
The attack is reported to have blighted the store's Developer Console publishing system on Sunday and Monday, and prevented new apps and updates from being rolled out to Android users.
I didn't have any malicious aim. I am so sorry for this damage.
At the time of writing, the issue appeared to have been fixed, but is thought to have affected developers around the world intermittently for the past two days.
According to a report on CNN Money, the downtime is the handiwork of Turkish hacker Ibrahim Balic, and was caused by his attempts to test a vulnerability he discovered in the console.
Balic told the site he wrote an app to exploit the vulnerability, but didn't expect other developers to be affected by it.
"I didn't have any malicious aim. I am so sorry for this damage," he told the site.
"I just wanted to be sure about [the] vulnerability."
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2026 report - the leading resource for IT decision-maker insight on priorities and investment areas in AI, security and more.
At the time of writing, Google had not commented on the outage or vulnerability, despite Balic's claim to have notified them about it.
Despite this, Balic said he's certain his actions are responsible for preventing the Developer Console from working properly, as it went offline shortly after he tried to upload his app.
"I wasn't sure until today. But now I am really sure because Google fixed [the] issue 30 minutes ago. After I upload malformed APK again, the service shutdown," he told readers on social news site Reddit.
-
SecurityHQ names Aaron Hambleton as product and services chiefNews Industry veteran will lead product and service innovation across the provider's cybersecurity portfolio
-
Cisco teams up with DSIT to drive digital skills adoptionNews Partnership supports the government's TechFirst program to provide one million secondary school students with access to digital learning experiences