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Mobile app security

What is Mobile app security_ How to perform it
Cyber Crime

What is Mobile App Security? How to perform it!

To make an app more secure, developers must make sure their apps can pass tough security tests. Luckily, some technologies can make these security tests easier and even automatic. Following best practices can also help guide and teach the testing process. This blog talks about the most common mobile app security testing and points out popular vulnerabilities. We’ll also go over recommended practices for app security testing and tools for keeping mobile apps safe in a CI/CD pipeline. Thorough penetration testing can prevent or reduce mobile app security errors (or breaches). Hence, to keep mobile apps secure, developers and businesses are doing penetration testing. This means carefully checking the IT systems, database security, the mobile apps themselves, and any other parts that make up the app. Following best practices for mobile app security is seen as an important part of the overall app security plan. If a company doesn’t have people with penetration testing skills for mobile apps, it is highly recommended to work with a good penetration testing company. The next paragraphs will explain the basic steps for developing an effective way to do penetration testing on mobile apps. What is Mobile App Security Testing? Mobile app security keeps valuable mobile apps and your online identity safe from cyber attacks. This includes things like keyloggers, malware, tampering, reverse engineering, and other interference or changes. A complete mobile app security plan includes best practices for use and company procedures, along with tech solutions like mobile app shielding. Mobile app security has become more important as mobile devices are used more in many countries and areas. More mobile devices, apps, and users means more people using mobile for banking, shopping, and other activities. The good news is banks are making their security stronger for customers using mobile devices for financial services with Android and iOS application penetration testing. Mobile app security is really important because of how much sensitive data is stored on mobile devices and how much we rely on them. Organizations and users can protect their mobile apps in advance by being aware of common threats and weaknesses. 5 Common Vulnerabilities in Mobile Apps Some common dangers and weaknesses of mobile apps are: 1. Not Enough User Verification This happens when an app doesn’t properly check that the user is allowed to do an action or access data based on the security rules. User verification processes should watch what a user, service, or app is permitted to do. 2. Session Doesn’t End Properly User identifiers become invalid when a user logs out of the app. However other users may still act on behalf of those users if the server can’t properly invalidate those identifiers. You must ensure the app has a logout button and waits until the session is correctly ended. 3. Server Security Issues Preventing unauthorized access can be done on the server side, but input checks and limits must be built into the app to reduce load on the server. The app should verify input data during server processing and stop bad behavior. 4. Insecure Data Storage Storing sensitive data insecurely on the device can cause vulnerabilities. Sensitive data stored on devices can potentially be stolen. Apps should store sensitive data in secure keychains. Data encryption is needed if stored on the device. 5. Poor Certificate Validation Mobile apps need to properly validate SSL/TLS certificates or refuse the connection if it can’t validate them. If not validated properly, data could be accessed illegally. Certificate validation must be done correctly to ensure certificates are from a trusted source. Want to see what an actual mobile app security testing looks like? Just click the link below and download one right now! Latest Penetration Testing Report Download Why Do Mobile App Security Testing? Mobile app security is important for developers, but it’s still not widely understood. Besides the increasing online fraud, there are various reasons why businesses should prioritize mobile app security and commit to building a complete plan. An attack on your app could be disastrous for your company. Security testing is critical during development for the following reasons: Makes your app follow industry requirements.  Gives your customers confidence in your offerings (e.g. when your app is ISO 27001 certified). Helps detect and understand vulnerabilities, so you can remove and prepare for dangers like security breaches. Reduces the financial and reputational damage associated with cyber attacks. Helps you determine which parts of your app to modify: third-party code, your code, or your security personnel.  Do you also want to test your mobile app security? Qualysec Technologies provides process-based VAPT services that will keep your organization secure from evolving cyber threats Contact now and get amazing offers!   Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call Impact on Business App Security Issues Short-Term Effects Long-Term Effects Financial losses Reputation damage Data theft by attackers Lost business – Man-in-the-middle attacks – – Unauthorized communication access Statistics on Mobile App Hacking Over 12 million users’ login details exposed by Slack mobile app hack 13 Android apps leaked data of up to 100 million users Up to 21 million parking app users affected by hackers 650,000 users’ info compromised in COVID-19 passport app breach Best Practices for Mobile App Security Testing Create a Thorough Testing Plan Before testing, make a plan covering: The testing application  Test scenarios Prioritizing test scenarios Testing approaches for mobile apps  Use SAST, DAST, and IAST Methods: Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes code without running the app to find security issues.  Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) monitors the running app to detect vulnerabilities. Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) combines SAST and DAST for real-time feedback. Using all three gives full coverage to identify and fix vulnerabilities.   1. Improve Authentication: Implement strong user authentication like usernames, passwords, and additional verification like OTPs or biometrics. Hence, use multi-factor authentication requiring multiple credentials. 2. Enforce Security Policies: Use mobile application management to enforce policies like authentication, encryption,

Cyber Crime

Here is the Top Company for Mobile Application Security Testing in 2024

In today’s interconnected world, where technology plays a pivotal role in our lives, ensuring the security of our digital assets, especially in the realm of mobile applications, has become more critical than ever. The prevalence of cyber threats and the potential for devastating consequences have made security testing an indispensable component of mobile application development. In this blog post, we will delve into the importance of mobile applications security testing, explore five different types of security testing specifically tailored for mobile apps, discuss the six principles of security testing as they relate to mobile application security, highlight essential considerations while selecting an external security testing vendor for mobile apps, and provide an overview of the common tools used for security testing in the context of mobile application development. Why is Security Testing important? The significance of security testing cannot be overstated. It serves as a proactive measure to identify vulnerabilities, assess risks, and ensure the robustness of a system’s security posture. Here are some key reasons why security testing is crucial:   Protecting sensitive data: Security testing helps safeguard sensitive user data, such as personal information, financial details, and login credentials, from unauthorized access, breaches, or theft. Maintaining user trust: By conducting thorough security testing, organizations demonstrate their commitment to protecting their users’ data and maintaining their trust. A security breach can lead to severe reputational damage and loss of customer confidence. Compliance with regulations: Many industries, such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, are subject to regulatory requirements that mandate robust security measures. Security testing ensures compliance with these regulations and helps avoid legal consequences. Preventing financial losses: Security breaches can result in significant financial losses due to the costs associated with incident response, recovery, legal ramifications, and potential lawsuits. Conducting security testing minimizes the risk of such financial implications. Mitigating business disruption: A security incident can disrupt normal business operations, leading to downtime, loss of productivity, and reputational harm. Regular security testing helps identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. What Is Mobile Applications Security Testing? Mobile applications security testing is an essential process that aims to assess and evaluate the security of mobile applications. It involves identifying vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and security loopholes that attackers could exploit to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application and its associated data. Through thorough security testing, organizations can gain insights into potential risks and vulnerabilities, enabling them to take proactive measures to mitigate these issues before they can be exploited. This not only helps in enhancing the overall security posture of the mobile application but also contributes to building user trust by ensuring that the app is resilient against potential security threats.   One of the key objectives of mobile application security testing is to ensure that the application meets industry standards and best practices for security. This includes testing the application for common security flaws such as input validation errors, authentication and authorization issues, insecure data storage, and inadequate session management. By identifying and addressing these vulnerabilities early in the development lifecycle, organizations can minimize the risk of security breaches and data leaks, thereby safeguarding both their reputation and the sensitive information of their users. Mobile applications security testing is, therefore, a crucial step in the development process, helping organizations deliver secure and reliable mobile applications to their users. Criteria for Mobile Applications Security Testing When performing mobile applications security testing, several key criteria should be considered to ensure comprehensive coverage:   Authentication and Authorization: Testing the app’s authentication mechanisms, password policies, session management, and user access controls to ensure that only authorized users can access the app’s functionalities and data. Data Storage and Encryption: Assessing how sensitive data is stored, encrypted, and protected both in transit and at rest. This includes evaluating secure storage practices, encryption algorithms, and secure key management. Network Communication: Testing the security of network communication channels to ensure the use of secure protocols (such as HTTPS) and protection against potential eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and data tampering. Input Validation and Output Encoding: Verifying that the app properly validates user input to prevent common security vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection. Additionally, assessing how the app encodes and sanitizes output to prevent injection attacks and data leakage. Secure Session Management: Evaluating how the app manages user sessions, including session timeouts, secure session token generation, and protection against session hijacking or fixation attacks. Why Conduct Mobile App Security Testing? Mobile applications security testing is important to developers but has yet to be commonly understood. Aside from the increasing prevalence of mobile fraud, there are various reasons why businesses should prioritize mobile app security and commit to building a complete plan. Consumers must be cautious about the information they disclose and the data they download when using the internet, but business professionals must also be cautious. Mobile devices are almost constantly on and close by, storing massive amounts of personal information, sensitive data, and documents. As a result, they might be a gold mine for attackers. An assault on your app might be disastrous for your company. Security testing is critical to the development lifecycle for the following reasons:   Makes your app conform to industry requirements. Gives your customers confidence in your offerings (for example, when your app is ISO 27001 certified). Aids in detecting and understanding flaws, allowing you to remove and prepare for dangers such as security breaches. Reduces the financial and reputational consequences associated with security events. Assists you in determining which components of your app’s application to modify: third-party code, your code, or your security personnel. Read more: Key reasons why mobile app security testing is important for businesses What are the Perks of Performing Pen Testing for Mobile Applications? Mobile app Penetration testing is an ongoing activity that benefits both the app development company and the app user. We’ll look at the top benefits of mobile penetration testing here: 1. Avoid Future Assaults Running your app through a simulated assault is the greatest approach to assess its security strength. With an

Cyber Crime

The Role of Threat Modeling in Mobile App Security: A Practical Guide

Did you know there are 6.3 billion people using smartphones today? With that, there are around 2.87 million apps in the Google Play Store and 1.96 million apps in the Apple App Store. The mobile app development industry is expected to boom by generating $935 billion in revenue in 2024. But do you know what’s more important than using apps? The answer is MOBILE APP SECURITY.   Although mobile applications have grown indispensable in daily life and business, a staggering 85% have security and privacy flaws that can degrade a company’s reputation, undermine consumer confidence, and result in regulatory penalties and legal settlements. Gartner predicts the global information security industry will be worth $170.4 billion by 2024. Mobile app developing companies must take extra precautions and do security testing to make their apps safer and more resistant to hackers. One such approach is mobile app threat modeling.  In this blog, we’ll delve deeper into threat modeling in mobile application and app security testing, covering these procedures, how they assist, and recommended practices for improving mobile device security. So, continue reading to learn! Understanding Threat Modeling in Mobile Application Security Threat modeling is an organized method whereby: Identifies security needs. Identifies cyber security threats and potential weaknesses. Assesses threat and vulnerability criticality. Prioritizes remedial measures. It examines mobile app design by comparing design perspectives to threat agents to find security flaws. Threat modeling provides enough depth to allow your firm to make educated risk decisions by identifying critical structural elements and system assets and documenting their associated risk.   “Also Read : Mobile App Security Testing Why is Threat Modeling Important? It is normal to believe that threat modeling also applies to cloud-based applications. While this is partly accurate, threat modeling applies to a broader range of systems, most of which do not sit in the cloud yet pose an even bigger threat. Threat modeling is crucial because there are at-risk systems that might collapse catastrophically. A sample of those systems includes the following: Systems that govern vehicle braking and collision avoidance Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that control systems in power plants and refineries Medical monitoring and medicine delivery devices. Aerospace systems for navigation and control. Threat modeling is also significant since it detects more than just security risks. It can also be used to identify potential compliance issues. Threats that, if realized, may cost a company as much in fines as a security violation.   You might be wondering if threat modeling is a different process than penetration testing, but no. Threat modeling is a part of the penetration testing process. If you want to learn more about and secure your mobile applications, talk to our security experts for FREE today! Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call Types of Threats That Can Impact Mobile Apps Awareness of cyber risks and taking the necessary precautions to protect your data and identity is critical. Here are the threats for mobile application security :  1. Weak Encryption Without effective encryption, your app’s data is subject to unauthorized access and even exploitation by hostile actors. Encryption is a powerful protection against data breaches, guaranteeing that even if an attacker obtains access to the data, it is rendered worthless without the decryption key. 2. Data Leakage Data leaking is a typical mobile app security concern in which hackers get access to valuable user or corporate data. This often occurs when the code needs more safe coding principles, encryption, and effective authentication procedures. If your app is insecure or does not have fundamental mobile device security protocols, hackers can obtain and misuse the following information. 3. Unpatched Vulnerabilities Vulnerabilities are weaknesses or vulnerabilities in software code that might allow hackers to enter an app, obtain access to sensitive information, or take control of its operations. Mobile applications, especially those created with complicated coding, are frequently rife with such vulnerabilities, making them great targets for fraudsters to attack. 4. Unsecure Network Connection Data is sent over carrier networks and the Internet in the client-server architecture of mobile app security. Vulnerabilities in this traversal procedure provide opportunities for attackers to launch malware assaults and intercept stored private data over WiFi or local networks. Businesses may face privacy violations, fraud, identity theft, and brand harm. 5. Unreliable Third-Party Components Developers frequently employ a combination of third-party components, such as APIs, libraries, and frameworks, to facilitate development. While third-party components are useful, they are typically hazardous, especially from untrustworthy sources. Such functionalities may access sensitive information and enable malicious programs to operate on users’ devices. 6. Malware attacks Malware is malware that infects a device or mobile app, typically to get access to sensitive information. It may spread via links, downloads, or applications, and fraudsters target it since millions of consumers use and rely on mobile apps daily. Cybercriminals continuously seek new methods to attack mobile applications, which have become popular targets because of their broad use. 7. Hardcoded Passwords or Keys Developers sometimes hardcode passwords, API keys, or OAuth keys to make an application easier to develop, support, and troubleshoot. This implies that the passwords or keys are directly written in the code. When these hardcoded values are found when an attacker reverse-engineers your software, you’re vulnerable to all types of exploitation.   “Read More : Why Mobile App Pen Testing is Crucial for Enterprises What are the Advantages of Mobile App Threat Modelling? The purpose of Mobile App Security threats Modeling is not just to discover vulnerabilities for mitigation but also to improve the application’s overall security. This method can benefit the app development process in the following ways: Design secure applications. Create security test scenarios to investigate the security needs. Highlight and create the appropriate control protocol. Balance risk, control, and usability. Identify essential control development and superfluous zones based on the probable danger. Keep a record of all dangers and mitigating approaches. Prevent corporate goals and needs from being compromised by threats or hostile actors. Ensure compliance and allocate resources efficiently, prioritizing security and development responsibilities. The Workflow of

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Pabitra Kumar Sahoo

Pabitra Kumar Sahoo

COO & Cybersecurity Expert

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Pabitra Kumar Sahoo

COO & Cybersecurity Expert