In the digital world of today, Mobile Apps are everywhere, as if they are real people, who speak in your hand, serve your entertainment needs, talk to your business, and so on. There is a great boom of mobile technology adoption to echo, yet the cyber security threats in its wake do not seem to let up. Today, in a climate of global cyber fraud, the necessity of app security is widely spread. It is critical for a security startup to enhance the security structure of feature implementation to ensure the protection of sensitive data and privacy on the users’ phones.
In this article, we are going to analyze the ten critical strategies that can help to improve the security posture of mobile apps:
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Learn about platform-centric limitations
If you are making mobile apps that are to run on multiple mobile operating systems, for a bug and error-free mobile apps security process, it is better to understand the security requirements and the limitations of the platform you are making apps for, then start coding accordingly. Furthermore, you must take into account the many variables that can affect your decision.
- Encryption support
- User case scenarios
- Password support
The aforementioned attributes may help you in distributing and managing the app on designated platforms.
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Source Code Encryption
In the mobile malware space, there are bugs, flaws, etc. within the source code and architecture of the mobile app.
As per the report, malicious code can affect 12 million users or mobile devices. In other words, source code must be encrypted stringently. Encryption of the code will guarantee the security of the source code and it will be impossible for the unknown to read it.
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Take care of data security
Whenever the confidential data of an organization is used by the mobile app to store the data, it is saved to device storage directly. Through mobile data encryption, one can successfully hunt for data using the sandbox. This encryption can be achieved through the provision of file-level encryption that will work with major operating systems.
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Protect The Data-In-Transit
Sensitive or confidential data sent from the client to several backend servers, which requires protection from theft or leaks, should be safeguarded.
The developers should make a point that they will put the data in secure storage methods only. This is possible by taking support of SSL / VPN web tunnels, thus allowing data encryption from theft or eavesdropping.
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Integrate MAM or MDM
MDM and MAM technologies are employed by companies to help them minimize the risks caused by devices and applications.
Companies adopt MDM & MAM to set up a secure app store for controlled distribution, use security layers to cover employees’ apps, remotely wipe devices & data of the apps, etc.
The facility of built-in support for multiple MDM/MAM vendors such as AirWatch, Good Technologies, and Apperian makes it simpler to maintain the security of your app always at a higher level.
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Protect The Backend
Multiple backend APIs have taken the assumption that a program coded to communicate with them can only do so by using them. But, this is not true. The back-end servers are preconfigured with a variety of security features, making it difficult for attackers to exploit the app. Consequently, security comes on the top of the list of things you must do. Perform code inspection prior to API upload and make sure that all APIs are strictly verified based on the mobile platform that you wish to write code for. Due to the fact that the transport mechanism and authentication at the API layer are not the same with every platform, it is not possible to create a universal solution.
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Use Modern-Day Cryptographic Techniques
Indeed, the seasoned cryptography algorithms such as MD5 & SHA1 are not enough to meet the expectation of security. As a result, we should keep up with the latest algorithm technology and this is to prevent unauthorized access. Implementing modern cryptographic techniques is essential to robust appsec.
The latest encryption methods such as AES with 256-bit encryption and SHA-256 must be used for hashing. It is important to do threat modeling and manual penetration testing to ensure that the mobile application is safe for use.
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Reduce the possibility of the Data Leakage.
The moment your app is being used by a user, he/she allows some permission which is beneficial for a business to gain some vital customer personal data. Then, by doing advertising legitimately and employing secure analytics providers, you can avoid all unconscious releases of users’ data to hackers or other nefarious business providers.
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Avoid Storing Confidential Data.
You must explore methods that can help to avoid storing the user’s confidential data on the device or your servers. It is important since saving the data can enlarge the threat.
In case, you have to store any data, then use encrypted data containers/key chains in which you can use cookies as a means for password saving. Lastly, minimize depending on logs. Additionally, set up the logs to automatically delete after a certain time period pre-selected.
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Perform QA & Security Testing In Extended Scope.
The final suggestion for the betterment of mobile application security is to execute random security tests against your app before it comes out. To a certain extent, hackers come in handy if you have the funds to hire one to check if there are any security breaches in an app. Nowadays an enormous amount of companies such as Microsoft, Google, etc. hire hackers to uncover security defects existing within their applications and award money to them for the same discovery.
Finally, in relation to the occurrence of attacks on mobile applications these days, security is vital in today’s connected world. The ten strategies proposed are able to greatly avoid cyber threats and ensure the security of mobile environments. This can be achieved through implementation of backups, server redundancy, data encryption, up-to-date information, use of biometrics, application of multi-factor authentication, data destruction, set-up of security policies, ready-attend cybersecurity, and alert security system. With security taken into consideration during all the development steps, we make mobile apps safe from intruders and deliver a good digital experience to all the end-users. In light of the fact that mobile technology is getting advanced every day, we should take necessary actions and precautions. So that we can protect ourselves and our devices from cybersecurity issues.
