New Android apps and updates were blocked from appearing in Google's Play Store on Monday, after a hacker attacked Google's app publishing system.
It's an outage you may not notice -- until it holds up the next update to Candy Crush, Plants v. Zombies or Clash of Clans. But developers are furious.
The publishing system known as Google's Developer Console first crashed mid-day Sunday. Many app developers still found themselves blocked from uploading to the Google Play Store on Monday. Some developers noted the issue appeared to be resolved on Monday, but another posted in a Google forum, "problem started again."
Meanwhile, Android users don't have access to new apps and updates. Existing apps are still available for download. Google's Android software powers nearly 80% of the smartphone market.
Ibrahim Balic, a Turkish hacker, claimed responsibility for the attack. He said the developer console crashed when he tried to test a vulnerability he discovered.
Balic wrote an app to exploit the flaw, which he expected to fail. But he said he didn't expect it to knock everyone offline as well.
Balic pleaded forgiveness from his online peers.
"I didn't have any malicious aim," he told CNNMoney. "I am so sorry for this damage."
He said the site crashed again when he uploaded the app to Google's publishing system a second time.
"I just wanted to be sure about (the) vulnerability," he said.
Balic said he notified Google of the issue but has yet to hear back. Google's press office did not immediately return a request for comment from CNN.
By his own account, this isn't Balic's first joust with smartphone app developers. He claimed to be the intruder behind an attempted hack of Apple's Developer Center last summer.
Android developers blocked from uploads this week voiced their frustration on Google's site and elsewhere online. They wrote in outage reports from Ireland and Israel to Spain and Russia.
"You really uploaded that thing again?" one posted on Reddit. "Now it will be quite hard to explain that it was accidental..."
But amid the grievances, that poster found space for some advice:
"It's quite something what you did, but I would also get a lawyer to be safe."
Latest Stories
-
Why Trump has invited five African leaders to the White House
4 hours -
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariff and demands Bolsonaro’s trial end
4 hours -
Linda Yaccarino departs as boss of Musk’s X
4 hours -
Juliana Storey re-elected President of Rugby League Federation Ghana
4 hours -
Three 18-year-olds jailed for 10 years each after brutal Kumasi robbery
5 hours -
US$367m IMF cash credited to BoG account.
5 hours -
EY Ghana launches 25th anniversary celebrations, reaffirms commitment to innovation, talent development
5 hours -
Mahama, Baffoe-Bonnie to grace GJA swearing-in ceremony
6 hours -
National Security yet to make an arrest after seizure of 12 gold-filled containers – Muntaka
6 hours -
Gov’t breaks silence on foreign queer couple’s ‘desecration’ of Independence Square
6 hours -
PIAC accountability oversight weakens with amendment of PRMA
6 hours -
CBG board must protect taxpayers’ money – Finance Minister cautions
7 hours -
Finance Minister congratulates new CBG board, reaffirms support for bank recapitalisation
7 hours -
Mahama sacks Ambulance Service CEO, Dr. Nuhu Zakaria
7 hours -
No room for excessive salaries in State-Owned Enterprises – Finance Minister warns CBG board
7 hours