How to increase App Security
Application Security: Smartphones are becoming an inseparable part of our lives, so are the mobile apps in our smartphones. Mobile apps are becoming more popular day by day as they are easy to install and use on smartphones. Gone are the days when we had to log in to computers to check and read emails, with high-speed internet and high technology, we are carrying everything in our smartphones.
So much time and energy are saved just by using smartphones for paying bills, booking tickets, for educational purposes and much more. Mobile apps are being used in our daily life and have become an integral part of our lives as it makes our lives more organized and for better time management.
The number of mobile apps that are provided by Google and Apple stores is crossing millions especially the Android application development. All thanks to the mobile app developers and mobile app development companies for making our lives so much easier.
The need to develop and protect the apps from malware, hackers and IP theft is very important, as one breach can not only cost you lose out your money but also the trust of clients. Hence, it is very essential to know the process involved in creating and securing mobile apps in the best possible ways.
There are many iOS app development companies who provide you with the best app development. Android application development plays a key role in the development of mobile apps. Here we are going to find the methods involved in for successful creation of mobile apps development for your business.
Safeguarding your mobile app concept - Application Security
Your concept behind the development of the mobile app must be kept safe and secure during the initial process of setting up the software. As setting up the mobile data involves a lot of people it is very essential to safeguard it else it may get stolen and someone may develop it before you even know. The initial stages when you are explaining the concept behind your mobile app is very crucial. When you talk to your prospective clients who would be sponsoring for developing your apps, make sure you select few people and trustworthy people. Even when you explain the idea to them mention only the highlights and not the entire project.
Choosing your team
Go for simple apps and you can always consult people who had done similar working apps for the cost involved and other real-time issues faced by them. When choosing the partners, developers or designers make sure you do a thorough background check on them. There are many websites that give you details of their legal and copyrights infringements against them. You can ask them for their testimonials, past projects they had worked with and client experiences, this you help you to narrow down the people you select for you to work with. So, upon choosing your team you are going to work with, you may need to get a non-disclosure agreement signed by them.
There are many mobile app developers in Gurgoan and choosing the right developers will give you the best results for your project. As developers need to know all the finer details about the project, it is very essential for them to keep the details within themselves and not to reveal it to anyone. Anybody who doesn’t abide by the non-disclosure agreement will need to face legal proceedings. Hence signing NDA will keep your project safe.
Application Security - Non-compete Agreement and Patent
A Non-compete agreement is an agreement made to the developer that he cannot work on any other project when he is working on your project. This will safeguard your project further and getting someone to do that will be a little difficult. Signing an NDA is not a guarantee that your app is 100% safe, it is always better to work with a reputable company. Although the patent is expensive and takes time, patenting your idea or part of your mobile app will be a good move on the legal side as this will give more security to your project. It is important that your idea and the origin of your idea are both original for patenting. You cannot patent already existing methods to create your app. There are many types of patents that can be of best use to your project. Since developers are the ones who work on the minute details of your project, it is very essential to make sure they hand over the entire project coding software and other important details to you before they leave your project. If you find anyone has infringed your data, make sure you tackle them legally and do not hesitate in doing as this will prevent others from hacking to your data.
Branding your app
Selecting a suitable app name, logo and icons used in your apps is vital as it would not only highlight your app but would make it unique and different. When your app name and icons are trademarked it can not be used by others. But first, you need to check if the name you have selected for trademark your app is not used by anybody. Although you can trademark your product, you cannot stop anyone from developing a similar product of yours. Trademark can be formed only after your business is formed legally. There are many hackers who are ready to steal your app’s credentials in the initial stage of development itself, so make sure it is protected by an encryption key or code. A highly encrypted data would render the stolen data useless to a hacker. A poorly encrypted data pose a security threat to the mobile data app as the hacker can intercept the server and gain access to the vital information.
Password security - Application Security
When you create your mobile application, it needs to be checked constantly, both development and testing should go hand in hand. Also, the file size of the apps, time taken for it to load, battery and other details needs to be constantly checked. If there are poor loading time, preloaded advertisements and unnecessary pop-ups, then even with high secure apps, you would lose your clients. The mobile app you develop should not only have the safety features but also be user-friendly. Hence there should be a proper balance between security and the ease of usage of mobile apps. these can be taken care of by the iOS app development company who specializes in details of developing a proper android application development. Your app should be easy to update and rebuild and easy for a transition between devices and OS. There are many cybercriminals who had hacked even the toughest apps and there are many ways a cybercriminal can access your app. It is the work of the developers to make sure the details of the people using the apps like credit card numbers, phone numbers, exact locations, and other details remain safe and secure and don’t land up in the wrong hands. Care should be taken to protect not only the software part but also the physical devices too. Employees who work for the project must be aware of the possible methods of hacking including the threat from malware and spyware. Studies have proven that weak passwords can be easily tracked by hackers and can get into your app without your knowledge. Hence it is always necessary to have a strong password that contains 8 characters, with alphanumeric and special character in it.
Server security
The apps server also requires equal protection. There are many ways by which hackers can penetrate your server by using the client’s phone. So, it is very important to protect the server and the cloud server so that there is no way a hacker can get into your server’s details. There is malicious code that a criminal can use to reverse engineer your code. He can simply inject that code to your apps and in no time then code can reverse itself. Hence make sure your code is safe by using binary protection and code obfuscation so that it cannot be reversed. Database encryption with SSL(secure socket layer), TSL(transport layer security) and VPN (a virtual private network) may add extra security to your mobile app. There are many coding techniques like jailbreak detection, debugger detection to secure your code. Transmission Control Protocol or Internet Protocol is nothing but a set of networking protocols that allows two or more computers to communicate. The transport layer which is a part of the TCP/IP protocol plays an important part when data is being moved from device to server or vice versa. A criminal can trace the path of communication to get into the system and can cause massive damage.
Data theft from smartphones - Application Security
A smartphone can be easily used for data theft since it is being used all day and if the client forgets to log off from the apps, it is likely that someone may be able to view all the details from the client’s phone in case the phone gets stolen. Hence there should be the auto logoff process in the app, once the session is not in use for some time. There are also chances of data leakages as a client may use more than one device for using the app. So, there is a good chance the data stored in the common phone is available in other devices which may lead to unauthorized usage by others. App developers should take care of possible areas of data theft like cache, cookies, etc. There are many good mobile app developers in Gurgoan who specialize in developing apps that are resistant to data theft. Some developers use their own devices for working on projects. So care should be taken such that their devices are well protected from antivirus, firewall, and anti-spam. Also activate a VPN for a more secure connection and allow only authorized devices to connect to it. Check another blog here telling more insights about Data Security.
Third-party software
When the client downloads apps, there are much third-party software that gets automatically downloaded. It may contain software that unknowingly gets all the details of the client and may send it across the hackers. When using third party libraries be extra cautious as some libraries can be insecure for your app so check for the coding fully before using it on your app. So, developers should use controlled internal repositories and protect their app from vulnerabilities in libraries. The cache is good for the smooth working of the apps, but it can also prove resourceful for hackers for gaining into client details, so cache should not store sensitive information pertaining to client bank or financial details.
Development stage security
Each stage of your apps function must be safe and secure. The app needs to be thoroughly checked by a security specialist and every stage needs to be checked of the bugs and fixed right away. You can also use an emulator so see the way a hacker can get into your system and fix the ways to close the path. The steps involved would be to decompose your application, ranking the threats and categorizing them and then mitigating methods to safeguard the app.
A security framework for your coding will help to secure your code in every stage and thus build a strong framework for your app. Encrypting data is the best method to protect against hackers. A strongly encrypted data even if found by a hacker will render useless, so make sure the data or at least parts of the data are properly encrypted with a strong encryption key so that only an authorized person can encrypt it.
There should be multi-password authentication when using secure apps like banking. There should be a login password and another password like an OTP or user-specific password, especially during the transaction process. Some apps allow for biometric password recognition like fingerprint and retina scanning while accessing sensitive information.
Backend protection - Application Security
Methods such as containerization and database encryption protect the backend data which are sometimes ignored and lead to data theft. Containerization is a method of creating encrypted containers for storing your data securely. Backend data also contain vital information about the client and other important server information, which could be a disaster if found in the wrong hands. As API is liberally used by developers, there is a need to encrypt the API traffic with SSL and TSL to keep the data safe, especially during data transfer.
Use only authorized API as unauthorized API are not well coded and may give hackers the privilege to hack into your apps easily. API coupled with a modern and well-supported algorithm acts as a double protection layer to your mobile app. Testing is the best method for keeping the app safe. There are many testing methods like AppScan, Veracode, and Sonar which can be used as separately or as a combination for covering the maximum areas of your apps. Schedule and automate your testing for getting real-time reports on runtime errors. Once you get the runtime error it is essential that these are fixed and again tested to check if it has worked.
Use tamper detection technology that will set off an alarm when the code is modified or altered. These will make sure that the code will not work if it been tampered or modified. Federation is the next level of security process that spreads resources across the servers so that the key resources are separated from the clients. Open Id connect is a federation protocol that has been specifically designed for mobile apps, this allows the client to reuse their credentials across multiple domains with a specific token ID so that they need not register and sign in each time.
App store protection
Though there are many instore protection apps provided by the android play store and apple app store, do not rely completely on them as they have got millions of apps and it is possible for some malicious content to find its way through the apps. Always have your own app protection security standards that will help you in the long run. Ensure that the clients download the apps from secure and authorized sites only and provide enough pointers if any kind of vulnerability is detected.
Lost/ Stolen Devices
There is a constant worry of theft or losing smartphones and it becomes a nightmare for people as important and crucial information is stored in them. Mobile app developers should develop apps that don’t require the user to store valuable information like password and credit card information on the device. If they are stored it should be safe and encrypted. The app should have the capability to wipe and block access if such a condition occurs.
With the increasing number of criminal hackers who are lurking around for hacking the mobile data, we can still protect the mobile data from hackers by having a solid and stable mobile app protection and a good developer who can respond immediately to bugs and threats. Thus, by following the above-said methods we can safely protect the mobile app from hackers and making it safe for clients to use them and gain their trust.
