Mobile App Security Assessment

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Overview

The primary goal of a mobile application review is to identify and address issues, bugs, security vulnerabilities, and maintainability concerns in the codebase before it is deployed into the production environment. A secondary goal is to ensure the security of the code over its life and changes are made. Code reviews can take place at various stages of the development process, such as during development, before a release, or as part of ongoing maintenance to address code security and adherence to best practices.

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The Challenge

There are several challenges that developers face when attempting to write secure code. The shear complexity of security and keeping up with the ever-evolving security landscape can be daunting. This is exacerbated by the pressure to deliver applications quickly. Additionally, trying to balance Security and Usability can add to the effort because having a positive end-user experience is key to achieving business goals. There are also other challenges such as Legacy Code and Dependencies, a Lack of Resources, Human Error and Compliance and Regulatory Requirements.

How We Solve It

To address these challenges, we first familiarize ourselves with the Application in scope. We approach the mobile application review with the goal of helping the developer. We ensure that the development team follows secure coding practices and guidelines, including OWASP Mobile Top Ten, to prevent common security pitfalls. We test the application for common vulnerabilities like SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and remote code execution by sending malicious input. We review the use of third-party libraries and APIs for security vulnerabilities and assess their permissions and data access requests. We look for potential issues by checking network security for proper implementation of secure communication protocols to protect data in transit. We also look for mechanisms to detect if the device is jailbroken (iOS) or rooted (Android) to protect the app's security. Additionally, we ensure that push notifications are sent securely, and that the recipient's device cannot be spoofed or manipulated to receive unauthorized notifications. We conclude by reviewing documentation to ensure that comments and code annotations are clear, informative, and up to date.

The Outcome

Our reporting is actionable! It allows developers to not only secure code but make it more efficient thereby increasing performance. Our goal of the mobile application review is to assist developers in delivering high-quality software that meets functional, security, and maintainability requirements. We help organizations prioritize security as an integral part of the development process and foster a security-conscious culture within their development teams.