When you create an app, it’s important that you pay attention to your app security to make sure your customer’s data is protected. Learn more here.
Did you know that mobile security is a major concern in today’s society?
In fact, more than 66% of businesses give company-owned and supported mobile devices to their employees. It’s a risky trend since most of the devices get exposed to insecure networks like home and public WiFi. Anyone in the company could unintentionally leak important information to hackers or competitors.
If you build apps, this means your biggest concern is securing app security. It’s especially the case when you’re trying to build one that takes in your users’ information. A good example of this is an eCommerce app used by a big online retail store.
Are you ready to learn tips to improve your mobile app security? Read on and find out more.
1. Use Security for the App’s Code from the Ground Up
Mobile software security should be your main priority from its inception. For native apps, the code is within the mobile device once it’s downloaded. What this means is that it’s more accessible for people that intend to cause harm.
A lot of vulnerabilities can appear in an app’s source code. But that isn’t a common business focus when spending on security. While network and data security are important, you need to start your security measures within the app itself.
The best way for you to secure your mobile app is to use encryption. You need to do everything in your power to keep the code secret and hard to read. The most common measures are to use obfuscation and minification.
Make good use of a secure App Maker that has testing features. It’s always important to put your code into the test on a regular basis. Running source code scanning ensures that you discover vulnerabilities whenever they arise.
2. Secure Your Back-End Network Connections
The servers and cloud servers accessed by your app’s APIs should have security. This ensures that the data stays protected while preventing unauthorized usage. APIs and entities accessing them should have verification.
Doing this will prevent malicious individuals from eavesdropping. It stops them from accessing sensitive information passing through your server and database using your client. Containerization is great if you need to make encrypted containers for data and other documents.
Try getting a network security specialist for penetration testing. Getting one for consultation helps assess network vulnerability. This will give you the right means of protecting your data.
3. Put Measures for Identification, Authentication, and Authorization
APIs should have this technology to help prove user identity within the app. This also adds another security layer to the entire login process. It’s best for you to use caution if your app’s functionality relies on someone else’s API.
Try to follow OAuth2 since it’s the standard protocol for secure connection management. It uses user-specific, one-time tokens. With this framework, you can customize it to your own ends. This enables you to give user permissions by credential collection processes like 2-factor SMS questions.
4. Check the Security of Customer Data
The more data stored in the device, the more vulnerable it becomes. It doesn’t matter whether the data storage is either on a temporary or permanent basis. With “leaky” apps, your customer data might get released without their knowledge.
The best way to avoid this is to use file-level encryption. This protects the data within each file, making at-rest data encrypted. Make sure to strengthen this by encrypting your app’s databases stored within the app.
As for app design, it’s more important to ensure that sensitive information isn’t stored on a device. If you must, ensure that it’s in a secure, encrypted storage system. Take a good note of the data and analytics collected by the app and see how it moves.
5. Put a Solid API Security Strategy on the App
Mobile development relies on APIs, so a large part of mobile application security is API security. APIs allow the flow of data between the app, the cloud, and the users. The users need verification and authorization access to the data.
APIs act as the main intermediaries for content. They also control app functionalities and data. If you want security measures, focus on your identification, authentication, and authorization processes.
6. Keep Testing Your App Software
App code testing is critical to the success of the app development process. When testing its usability, you need to put priority to security as well. It doesn’t matter whether you’re building a native, hybrid, or web application.
Before publishing the app, you’ll detect code vulnerabilities when testing. This allows you to correct them whenever they arise. As said before, penetration testing is important since it probes your network or system for possible weaknesses.
Give a thorough test for authentication and authorization. This will help you test for possible data security issues and check the session management. Use emulators and see how your app performs in simulations.
7. Remind Users to Protect their Devices
As a developer, you can’t do a lot to ensure that users have secure devices when downloading your apps. But it’s always good to try and give them a few pointers to make their devices safer. This ensures they won’t get into security issues that result in identity theft or fraud.
The most common reminder you can give them is to avoid using jailbroken or rooted devices. After all, it removes the in-device security measures that give basic protection to their devices. What this means is they’re more likely to get compromised by malicious individuals.
Practice App Security Today!
The number of users transitioning to mobile devices is increasing. What this means is that more hackers now lurk to steal sensitive information while compromising app security. If you’re developing apps, make sure to uphold application security best practices.
This will ensure that you get a solid mobile security strategy. It will help to respond faster to various threats and bugs and make your app a safer place to users. This will make them more loyal in the future.
But why stop here? We have more guides to help you out.
Do you need to hire a freelance developer, for example? Wait a moment and read our guide first!
