The concept of app security seems to get more interest as the day passes. Developers launch different apps for diverse functions daily. Yet, there is a question you must be curious about before you download any app. Are these apps secured?
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A developer is just as prone to make a mistake as anybody. Should they make any, your priority should be finding it real quick. The faster you are to avert a threat, the simpler and safer your workflow becomes. Aside from saving time, it is cost-effective. You spend less on auditing or recovering your reputation from the hacker.
If you want to know how secure the average app is, read on. In this article, you will get clarity about this whole app security thing.
Is the Average Application Secure?
First, you must know that app security isn’t limited to only web apps. Mobile and network-based apps are a large part of what you should look for.
A cyber security research center extensively researched mobile app security. The research covered android applications. The researchers sampled over 3000 top android applications in about 20 categories. The scope was on three essential areas of mobile app security. The focus areas are device permissions, vulnerability, and disclosure of sensitive information.
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From the research, many android applications are often exposed to security threats. For example, the high rate of device permissions caused concern within security bodies. The results from the findings are in three sections for better emphasis.
For the vulnerability cases, many of the problems had to do with open source software. From the research, an average app had around 20 open source software. This is quite outrageous for an average app. Furthermore, about half of the app vulnerability analyzed cases have the high-risk tag. This means that hackers are exploiting them or will soon be.
On disclosing sensitive information, the researchers discovered developers leave sensitive data in the source code by mistake. The information they leave includes tokens, AWS keys, IP addresses or URLs, email addresses, and so on. When the information gets into the wrong hands, its holders may use it against the persons involved.
An attacker can steal IP, launch resources, or plant programs in the code when there is a window. This program costs affected organizations so much to get rid of. It is sad to see that it is more common with mobile apps.
Though everyone is now comfortable with the excessive rate of device permission, it shouldn’t be so from the beginning. It is high time someone asks why some apps can redirect other apps in the guise of performing better.
Having an audio application have access to controlling calls is logical. But think of it this way: how about an application that wants permission over other applications that don’t hinder its actions? Most apps now want unlimited access, including sensitive information. From the research, an average app wants around 11 permissions; some are unnecessary.
The most recent research of 85,000 web apps shows that at least 83 of every 100 apps have flaws. Out of these 83, around 20% is due to vulnerability. App vulnerability is a high-risk flaw as it gives hackers access to information on the website.
With these researches and others, it is safe to say that the average app is not as secure as expected. Trendy applications are not left out of the Appsec saga. As much as you can, you must never reveal too much information. Sometimes, a very secure website does not have a 100% guarantee of being free from threats. So, there’s more work to do to ensure the security of apps and other development practices in general.
How Can You Secure Apps Better? Tools You Need
Since you understand that the average application is not as safe, there should be a way to secure yours. Now, there are different groups of security software you may use to keep your app safe. All known security tools fall into one of these software tools: security testing tools and app shielding tools.
Security Testing Tools
Security testing tools have to do with tools that test how secure an application is. It was the first group of security tools to exist. Hence, the sector is dominated by famous software vendors like IBM.
Depending on how you intend to protect the app, the different groups of testing tools include:
Mobile testing tools: This category is for mobile apps. It studies how an attacker gets access to the mobile operating system. In addition, it covers how an attacker uses apps to their advantage.
Static testing tools: These test tools examine app code at fixed points in development. It is helpful for developers to check their code as they write code. This way, they can reduce errors during development.
Dynamic testing tools: Developers use this test to analyze a code in operation. In the course of testing, dynamic testing detects more errors. Dynamic testing is helpful because it imitates attacks. By posing as the threat, it exposes complex attack patterns and real threats.
Interactive testing tools: The test combines static and dynamic testing to reveal security flaws.
Aside from this, you may classify testing tools based on how the programmers deliver them. In this grouping, they are either via a SaaS subscription service or through an on-premise tool. The vendors deliver on-premise tools offline to the physical development environment. You may submit your code to the testing service for the SaaS service to carry out an online check for flaws.
Testing tools operate in different ways. Most vendors limit their tools to one or two languages because the fewer, the safer. Several tools run as extensions, so you can effect testing by clicking. Some tools work better with other tools if they import test results from another. You will see the benefits when you need to do many tests with different tools.
App Shielding Tools
From the name, app shielding tools make the app less vulnerable to attacks. These tools do more than test for threats; they ensure your app is safe from a security compromise.
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The different groups of app shielding tools include:
Data encryption tools: Tools that encrypt the app to keep hackers away.
Threat detection tools: Assess the development environment to determine its security. These tools alert the developer of potential threats.
Runtime application self-protection (RASP): This tool combines app security testing and shielding. The software observes and assesses the behavior of an application in an environment. A RASP tool sends alerts and stops the development process if it discovers a security threat. RASP tools are fast becoming popular with mobile app protection. Soon, it will be the default security tool of most mobile app vendors.
Code obfuscation tools: Helps the developers to protect code from hackers by hiding their malware.
Conclusion
To keep your apps safe beyond the reach of attackers, you need proven solutions to deal with the cause. App security is an investment you should take. But, one may be unable to promise that some of these solutions will be 100% secure. Yet, you are sure of a security system above average. With that, you shouldn’t fear losing sensitive information that may cost you much.