There has been an exponential increase in the usage of mobile apps with each passing year. In fact the internet connected mobile devices are increasing across the globe with US alone accounting for 86 percent of the internet usage. Usually mobile apps can be availed via online app distributors like Windows store, Google Play store, App store etc. Also, mobile apps are viewed as a popular and easy access on the go to deliver content and value among the mobile users in the world.
Businesses across industries have embraced mobile applications for improving employee productivity along with making themselves aligned with a connected and a younger workforce.
Need for Mobile App Security
With the rapid growing of competition in the industry of mobile app development, it is high time that one should think about maintaining the security aspects. This is because mobile apps are now being extensively used either in Shops, or Malls, or on Food Delivery platforms, or on Online E-Commerce platforms, or in playing games online and even in making banking transactions. This can actually make your apps prone to the threat of hacking. So you need to protect your frequently used apps so that all your online activities remain protected from malicious attacks.
Listed below are some noteworthy stats which can compel you to rethink about your mobile app security tips.
- 56 percent of the top 100 paid apps on App store have been hacked till date.
- Year by year the number of mobile malware infections increase by a whopping 163 percent.
- Almost all of the top 100 paid apps on Google Play store have been hacked till date.
The above mentioned statistics can be really alarming as companies nowadays follow the policy of bringing your own device to combine both professional and personal interests.
Cracked or hacked mobile apps can result in the following:
- Intellectual property theft
- Major revenue loss
- Loss of brand value
- Unauthorized access to user and enterprise data
So being a developer today the first and the most important aspect to be taken care of is to come up with solutions that can protect mobile apps against malicious attacks.
The Following Sections will Talk about Tips for Mobile Application Security
There are differences between the ways through which mobile apps are developed and delivered to the end users from that of a normal software development cycle.
Source Code Encryption : Within the design and source code of mobile applications, mobile malware often taps vulnerabilities and bugs. According to recent surveys it has been reported that malicious codes are capable of infecting and providing security concerns to more than 12 million mobile devices at any given point of time. The common way to do this is to repackage the popular apps into rogue apps and publish the same. This makes it necessary to encrypt source code.
Assessing Platform Specific Limitations : Nowadays there is a need of getting the mobile apps developed for different operating systems which brings into the most essential part to consider and look into the security features along with restrictions of the usable platforms. Along with this there is a notable and important section to be taken care of such as password support, encryption support, geo-location data support for the different operating systems used. To take appropriate control and distribute the app in the chosen platform one need to consider these preventive measures so that the desired aims and objectives can be met.
Provisions for Data Security : When enterprise or confidential data are being accessed by mobile apps, it may happen that unstructured data gets stored normally within the device storage. For securing the data in a Sandbox, mobile data encryption can be used effectively either by offering file-level encryption across multiple operating systems or by using Proper Database Encryption Modules.
Support Integration with MAM/MDM : App development companies nowadays, are applying solutions related to mobile device management and mobile app management to reduce device and app related threats. You can create enterprise app stores with these solutions to eliminate device data and app, regulate distribution along with wrapping employee apps within multiple security layers.
Backend Security : There should be apt security measures for the backend servers for utmost protection against malicious attacks. This can be taken care by verifying the API’s dependencies on all the mobile platforms on which the app are developed and coded. This is because API authentication and support mechanisms vary from one platform to the other.
Prevention of Unintended Data Leakage : While engaging users to apps, they need to agree with certain permissions. This enables businesses and brands to obtain private and personal information of the customers. Users can protect themselves from their data getting unintentionally leaked to the malicious business vendors or hackers by implementing advertising and using secured analytics.
Use of Latest Cryptography Techniques : To get the most effective and desired result in negating the malicious attacks, the use of cryptographic algorithms like SHA 1 and MD 5 are not yielding the desired results considering the nature and scope of modern day security. Hence to overcome this, one has to always update with the latest hashing methods such as SHA-256 and AES 256-bit encryption. To add extra security and get 100% reading on the security meter, threat modeling and manual penetration testing should also be performed before making the apps go live.
Thus from this discussion you can now understand how a popular mobile app development company like us can make your apps secure to enable your business become competitive and stand out, by implementing secured and trusted development environment for your valuable product or app. We at Red Apple always thrive to deliver best and to practice and on research to work with latest and modern advanced Development Technologies and Databases Encryption to make the apps more easy and most secure.
Conclusion : Right from protecting user data to ensure safe transactions online, mobile app security measures can serve all purposes with high efficiency and accuracy. So if you need apps for your brands, do not hesitate to make those protected from malicious attacks by availing our tailor made solutions.
