Mobile application security is nothing but the finding out all the Possible vulnerability which is present inside a mobile application, Which may result in disclosing all the sensitive data to an unauthorized user. In mobile application we identify all the vulnerabilities of a mobile application, Which can be exploited to compromise the CIA triad of a mobile application.
How secure are mobile applications?
Nowadays every business has its own mobile application so that any consumer can I access that application anytime anywhere. However,
85% of mobile apps have security risks
70% of mobile apps leak personal data in violation
Only 9% of organizations are able to automate of their security test cases for continuous identification of bugs and patching.
So, every time you download any application from play store, it may contain a vulnerability which can
result in compromising the application, mobile device and other secure applications as well.
Importance of Mobile application security testing:
Mobile application normally stores the information which are sensitive in nature (Card Info, PII details, personal photos, mails etc)
No matter how error-free code is, when the application is made public, hackers try to exploit it. While we try to catch security bugs (Vulnerabilities) through manual and automated review, bugs can be missed due to human error. However, if an organization has a practice of continuous security audit, such bugs can be identified in next round of security audit by another tester. In addition, there are multiple new vulnerability which keeps emerging as a result of change in technology or application code. Such vulnerabilities can also be addressed by keeping a practice of continuous security audits.
Types of mobile applications security Testing
There are basically two approaches which can be used to identify security flaws in mobile application Static and dynamic:
In a static analysis approach, the development team must provide the source code or compiled binaries of the application for programmatic analysis. The code is analyzed to ensure security controls are in place in areas like authentication, authorization, session management, and data storage and information disclosure.
Dynamic security analysis is the testing and evaluation of a program by executing data in real-time. The main objective of this analysis is to find the security weak spots in a program while it is running. Dynamic analysis is conducted against the app’s backend services and APIs. The types of tests run vary depending on the type of mobile app being tested (native or browser-based).
Dynamic pen test tools communicate with browser-based mobile apps through their web front-end, in order to identify potential security vulnerabilities and architectural weaknesses in the app, without the need for access to source code.
In general, dynamic analysis is performed to check whether the following controls are in place:
- Input/output validation (Fuzzing attacks, SQL injection, etc.)
- Specific application problems
- Server configuration errors or version issues
How can Qseap add value to Mobile Application Security Testing?
Qseap is one of fastest growing company in Asia with a over 200+ security experienced consultants. There is a dedicated research team continuously studying about the latest mobile application coding practices and security weakness.
In addition, Qseap has the experience to handle multiple projects which includes critical applications such as Banking and Financial applications, government applications, gaming application etc.
By engaging Qseap for security audit of your mobile application, you can peacefully focus on the business without worrying about the impact of security breaches
Best Practices for Mobile application security testing
You can simply follow OWAPS mobile top 10 which covers mostly every component of mobile security
Few of security measures must be followed by any application like SSL pinning implementation, root detection (don’t allow to run on rooted device), data encryption, local data storage.
You can take care of all this thing at the time of development itself when application is at initial stage which can save time, money and efforts of bug fixing in the later stages of application development before go live.