When it comes to app development, the number one concern for the developers or creator is its security. It is a well-known fact that a poorly secure app can risk not only the user’s data but also damage the business reputation.
With so many apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, mobile app industry is growing at a rapid pace. Even the finance apps are not secure.
Consumers do have a positive overlook at apps. 84% of the combined mobile app executives and app users think that finance and health apps are secure. However, in truth, 90% of the apps(mobile and health) suffer from critical security vulnerabilities.
On top of that 98% of the apps don’t use binary protection which is a widespread security vulnerability.
As a developer or an app development company, your primary concern should be to make your app secure and get rid of all the security loopholes.
In this article, we will list five ways you can check how secure your app is. The methods will help you find the app security. So, without any delay, let’s get started.
1. By using Mobile App Scanner
Mobile App Scanner can be a great way to find out security loopholes in your app. By using these scanners, you can fix multiple types of vulnerabilities including sensitive data leak, malware, non-proper file size permission, and so on.
There are plenty of mobile app scanners you can use. Let’s list few of them below.
Ostrolab: It is a simple scanner that let you scan both iOS and Android app. To do a scan, all you need do is upload the Android Package Kit(APK) file.
Quixxi: Just like Ostrolab, it also provides you a vulnerability test.
AndroTotal: AndroTatal is a perfect tool for finding the malware and virus in APK files. It is basically an aggregator and checks your APK against antivirus such as TrustGo, Comodo, AVG, etc.
2. Identify and fix low-quality code
One of the main reasons behind the security vulnerabilities is low-quality code. If you are a developer, you should understand that low-code quality poses a threat to your app. It becomes easy for hackers to break through poor-quality code. They can steal data, change how the app work, inject malicious code and do a lot of nasty things that you don’t want in your app.
Moreover, hackers can also get access to the app APK or iPhone application archive(IPA), and then release their modified install file to the market, infecting a huge number of users.
To secure your app you need to use the stack of a four-layer technique for code security. It is shown in the image below.
Source: Clutch.co
As you can see, the app security also depends on hardware, operating system, and infrastructure. This means that app security needs to be done according to each of the layers.
3. Do periodic testing
There is no alternative to proper testing. To make it more effective, it needs to be done periodically. Also, the testing should be focused in finding security vulnerabilities. To get started, you can run the following type of testing.
Unit testing: This is the most common testing done by developers. It is done on smaller app parts to ensure that the basic code is bug-free.
Integration testing: Integration testing works on a large scale where the app is tested by combining a much larger code base or aspects such as the database, hardware or interfaces.
Penetration testing: Penetration testing is done to ensure that the app as a whole is free from any security vulnerabilities.
4. Check network connections
Today’s apps are all data drive. This means that they transmit a lot of data in and out. If done correctly, it can lead to the great user experience. However, it also means that your app is vulnerable to a lot of threats including data theft and loss. Before you release your app or a big update, ensure that you check network vulnerabilities. You can run tests or simply outsource the testing part to a network security expert.
5. Check the device security
Device security is important to ensure that your app runs without any vulnerabilities. As we already know securing an app requires securing the underlying architecture that it is running on. To check if the device is secure, you need to check if the mobile app sandbox works as intended. Also, check how your app works on a jailbroken device. Does it bring new threats or open up new vulnerabilities?
Conclusion
We hope you liked the tips that are shared to secure your app. If you have something to add, don’t forget to comment below and let us know. We are listening.
