What security controls are most effective for mobile apps?

Mobile apps are ubiquitous and convenient, but they also pose significant security risks for users and developers. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in mobile apps to steal sensitive data, launch malicious attacks, or compromise device functionality. To protect your mobile apps from these threats, you need to implement effective security controls that cover the entire app lifecycle, from design to deployment to maintenance. In this article, we will discuss some of the most effective security controls for mobile apps, and how they can help you reduce the risk of breaches and enhance user trust.

1 Secure coding practices

One of the most important security controls for mobile apps is to follow secure coding practices. This means using well-known and tested frameworks, libraries, and tools that adhere to industry standards and best practices. It also means avoiding common coding errors, such as buffer overflows, injection flaws, insecure storage, or weak encryption. Secure coding practices can help you prevent or mitigate many types of vulnerabilities that can compromise your app's functionality, performance, or security.

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Prasanth Varanasi

Head of Development & Integration - Tech. Arch. Dev & Delivery | Microsoft .NET | Azure | Power platform | Mobile Apps solutioning & architecting.
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Proper input validations, output encoding, custom exception handling, proper error handling, ensuring to have both IF and Else conditions are to be identified for any business logic helps the mobile apps to perform well while implementing the secure coding practices. There is a myth that app performance would get degraded when adopting secure frameworks. The performance of the mobile app has a lot of factors to affect and it all depends on the functionality implemented.

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2 Authentication and authorization

Another key security control for mobile apps is to implement strong authentication and authorization mechanisms. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or a device, while authorization is the process of granting or denying access to specific resources or functions. Authentication and authorization can help you protect your app's data and functionality from unauthorized or malicious users. Some of the best practices for authentication and authorization include using multifactor authentication, biometric authentication, token-based authentication, role-based access control, and OAuth 2.0.

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Brad Cypert

Helping developers make the right technology decisions
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OAuth 2.0 is not enough anymore. In addition, mobile applications should be using the PKCE flow for OAuth 2.0 to ensure that they remain secure from issues like excessive/noisy OS logging.

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Prasanth Varanasi

Head of Development & Integration - Tech. Arch. Dev & Delivery | Microsoft .NET | Azure | Power platform | Mobile Apps solutioning & architecting.
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The libraries that are used for implementing authentication and authorisation techniques need to be upgraded on a timely basis. Especially with Android frameworks and APIs evolving very frequently, developers should put a keen focus in understanding, developing and testing the authentication measures regularly including backward compatibility.

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3 Data protection

Data protection is another essential security control for mobile apps, as it involves safeguarding the data that your app collects, processes, stores, or transmits. Data protection can help you prevent data leakage, loss, or theft, and comply with relevant privacy and security regulations. Some of the best practices for data protection include encrypting data at rest and in transit, using secure protocols such as HTTPS and SSL/TLS, implementing data minimization and retention policies, and obtaining user consent and preferences.

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Prasanth Varanasi

Head of Development & Integration - Tech. Arch. Dev & Delivery | Microsoft .NET | Azure | Power platform | Mobile Apps solutioning & architecting.
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Developers need to focus on two aspects. Data is stored on the mobile device and the Data that is being transferred through the internet. Appropriate encoding and encryption measures to be taken to secure data in both scenarios. Developers need to have a considerable amount of effort in checking the file system access first before any operation on the file system. Each platform has their own best practices to follow, whether the developers consider cross platform, hybrid platform or native platform development.

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4 Testing and auditing

Testing and auditing are also important security controls for mobile apps, as they involve verifying and validating the security of your app's code, functionality, and data. Testing and auditing can help you identify and fix any security flaws or vulnerabilities that may exist in your app, and ensure that your app meets the security requirements and expectations of your users and stakeholders. Some of the best practices for testing and auditing include performing static and dynamic analysis, conducting penetration testing and vulnerability scanning, and using automated tools and frameworks such as OWASP Mobile Security Testing Guide and NIST Mobile App Security Checklist.

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5 Monitoring and updating

Monitoring and updating are also crucial security controls for mobile apps, as they involve keeping track of and responding to the security status and performance of your app. Monitoring and updating can help you detect and mitigate any security incidents or issues that may arise in your app, and ensure that your app remains secure and functional over time. Some of the best practices for monitoring and updating include using logging and analytics tools, implementing security patches and updates, and following incident response and recovery procedures.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Zohrab Taghiyev

 Certified iOS Developer | Blogger
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Code Obfuscation and Minification Code obfuscation and minification are techniques used to make the app's source code more challenging to reverse engineer. Obfuscation transforms code into a less readable and understandable form, making it harder for malicious actors to analyze and exploit vulnerabilities. Minification reduces the size of code files, improving app performance and limiting the exposure of sensitive information. These techniques are valuable in preventing the exposure of proprietary algorithms, security mechanisms, or sensitive data.

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What security controls are most effective for mobile apps?

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3

4

5

6

1 Secure coding practices

2 Authentication and authorization

3 Data protection

4 Testing and auditing

5 Monitoring and updating

6 Here’s what else to consider

Mobile Applications

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What security controls are most effective for mobile apps?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Secure coding practices

2 Authentication and authorization

3 Data protection

4 Testing and auditing

5 Monitoring and updating

6 Here’s what else to consider

Mobile Applications

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