Law Firm to Sue Epic Games Over Fortnite Data Breach

Another week, another discrepancy in the world of Fortnite. A class-action lawsuit is forming against developer/publisher Epic Games for a two-month security vulnerability.

The suit is being filed by US law firm Franklin D. Azar & Associates, who are pushing for recovery for everyone affected by the leak. They specifically refer to an instance in January, where a cybersecurity firm revealed a data vulnerability that potentially allowed hackers to access the personal data, including payment info, of Fortnite players.

"Affected Fortnite users have suffered an ascertainable loss in that they have had fraudulent charges made to their credit or debit cards and must undertake additional security measures, some at their own expense, to minimize the risk of future data breaches including canceling credit cards associated with their Epic Games/Fortnite accounts and changing passwords for those accounts."

Epic acknowledged the issue and fixed it, but not until two months after the problem was made public.

"Furthermore, Fortnite users have no guarantee that the above security measures will in fact adequately protect their personal information. Fortnite users therefore have an ongoing interest in ensuring that their personal information is protected from past and future cybersecurity threats."

While it sounds trendy to target the most popular game in the world, there's an additional perspective to consider. Yes, Epic should've been more secure and dealt with the issue immediately. But not long ago, the ESA leaked the private info of thousands of press and media members that attended E3 this year. Why is no one going after them?

Because it's less profitable.

When a law firm takes actions like this for the public, the firm gets a large chunk of the recovery money paid by the accused, with the rest going to the public that joined them. Epic is a high profile, extremely wealthy company. This feels less about justice and more about making fat cash.

Regardless of my opinion, if you've personally been affected by that data breach, then you should contact the law firm.