Customers use smartphones with 4G network capabilities to access the Internet, conduct finance, business, and social transactions and consume media. However, the security of the data consumed by the end user via apps distributed through mobile application stores is a significant concern.

Additionally, there is a constantly growing need for smartphones, and customers are always looking for more. Companies are introducing new phones into the market every year. While this is a plus for the community, it may also become a source of delight for hackers because there will be more to hack. Only a fully-fledged mobile app testing environment for security will prevent apps (and companies) from leaking a large amount of personal data from mobile devices.

Why do we need to test mobile app security?

In today’s society, almost everyone owns a Smartphone. Due to this, it has become unavoidable to skip security testing for mobile apps to avoid discrepancies in authentication, authorization, data security, hacking, and other areas. There are numerous reasons why mobile application security testing is critical, some of which are:

1. Investing in test automation tools and app security software can aid in detecting vulnerabilities and realizing desired cybersecurity.
2. The right app security testing solutions deliver a higher level of security and higher security standards.
3. Testing mobile apps for security aids in executing a proactive security strategy by constantly monitoring the app and how users interact with it.
4. Security tests can help businesses take advantage of evolving threat databases. The popular app security software compares attacks to a known threat database using technologies such as AI.
5. A company can reduce the consequences of a compromised app through security testing, such as regulatory fines, loss of critical business data, lawsuits, or attacks on the bottom line, saving significant monetary losses.

An Overview of the Mobile Security Testing Process

Providing security testing for apps, like everything else, requires a method to overcome the madness. Here are three basic steps recommended by experts in the field that organizations must take to achieve the desired result:

• Gathering Intelligence (gather as much as possible information about the app)
• Modeling of Threats (identify threats for the app-specific or prepared), Runtime analysis (analyzing the communicating process for internal components (Android: Intents; iOS: objc_msgSend calls),
• Vulnerability analysis (identify vulnerabilities in the app using previously created test cases), and Forensic methods (Timeline analysis)

10 critical aspects to consider when ensuring the security of your mobile apps

The key activities to be carried out while testing the security of mobile applications are as follows:

• Improving Security Features Across Multiple Platforms Because mobile apps operate on various devices, operating systems, platforms, and networks and can access multiple phone features, testing the security factors across these variables is critical.
• Evaluating Test Performance It is critical to evaluate the performance of various automated mobile app security testing solutions used to detect embedded spyware, Trojans, viruses, data leakage, unsolicited network connections, and other threats.
• Data-In-Transit Security In addition to ensuring the security of mobile apps, organizations must protect sensitive information transmitted from the client to the server against data theft and privacy leaks. Experts recommend using an SSL or VPN tunnel to ensure that you can effectively protect user data with strict security measures.

• Using Robust Hack-Proof Code
  Because mobile apps are frequently vulnerable to malware attacks and data breaches, developers must pay special attention to writing code that is robust and free of backdoors that attackers can exploit. As a result, deploying hack-proof codes to implement mobile app security standards and ensure that apps transmit, use, and store the least amount of data is critical.

• Careful Selection Of Third-Party Libraries
  In general, developers use the codes provided by third-party libraries. However, significant security risks are associated with these codes, making it critical to thoroughly test the code taken from these libraries before incorporating it into mobile application code.

• Using Proper Testing Labs
  A cloud-based mobile testing lab is a wise decision because it allows for uploading locations or the actual apps for testing.

• Code Evaluation
  It is critical to evaluate the automated code that enables IT teams to simplify the security of mobile apps in agile environments.

• Using Cutting-Edge Cryptography Techniques
  Even the most widely used cryptographic algorithms, such as MD5 and SHA1, are frequently insufficient to meet the ever-increasing security requirements. As a result, experts advise staying up to date on the latest security algorithms and employing modern encryption methodologies such as AES with 512-bit encryption, 256-bit encryption, and SHA-256 for hashing. Additionally, organizations should perform manual penetration testing and threat modeling on apps before releasing them to the market to ensure complete security.

• Evaluation Of App Features In The Required Environment
  A critical task in security testing is to inspect each feature in real-time controlled environments and compare results to many known applications.

• Other Requirements
  Assessing apps that use binary static analysis, which exposes malicious capabilities and vulnerabilities such as information leakage, and assessing the app’s compliance with industry requirements and standards, is critical to ensuring security.

Conclusion

Today, developers prioritize mobile app security to empower users by protecting confidential and private data, data losses, malware, and other threats. The market provides various tools to assist with app security testing, which can help establish a safe digital space for everyone.

Article resource: This article was originally published here https://www.solutionhow.com/en-us/security/ways-to-ensure-successful-mobile-app-security/