5 Crucial Ways to Mitigate Security Risks as a Mobile App Development Company
Mobile devices are in trend these days. Thus, a mobile app development company is sought after as well. Almost every day we see a new mobile device entering the market. No wonder these devices are always in our hands because they allow us to do almost everything right from the tip of our hands.
Did you know? 88% of the people in the US spend their time using mobile apps. When it comes to businesses, they tend to go mobile actively. However, the problem is the weak mobile app security. According to Verizon reports from 2020, 43% of the companies sacrificed security when deploying mobile applications. 39% of the companies admitted that they had gone through a security breach that impacted their business.
97% of the different businesses faced multiple mobile threats last year. So why did this happen? The only reason is most of the companies didn’t invest the time & budget in mobile security. The result is it was hard to imagine the amount of money the companies had to spend to fix the security-related issues.
Being an eCommerce app development company, let us share some of the issues related to weak mobile security.
- Loss of Customer Information
- IP Thefts
- Damage to the Brand
- Loss of Revenue
- Theft of Financial Information
Now the question is, as a mobile app development company, how can you make the custom mobile app secure? Before we get an answer to it, let us ask you, what is more, difficult than developing a feature-rich mobile app? It’s developing a feature-rich app that is risk-free. Now, to answer the previous question, here are 5 crucial ways to mitigate the security risks during mobile app development.
Also read: 5 Super Powerful Reasons To Hire The Best App Development Company
How to Develop a Secure Mobile App?
When it comes to security, it is important to ensure there are precautions at every level. Here are some essential security practices that mobile app developers need to follow.
#1 Consider All the Possible Risks
As an eCommerce app development company, this is of utmost importance. Before starting the development of the app, the team of technicians should spend some time analyzing the risks. It is important to predict how exactly something can harm the app. This will help to decide beforehand, how the app can handle sensitive data, and make use of the payment credentials, passwords, PIN codes, and more.
#2 Follow iOS and Android Guidelines
Being a mobile app development company, you might tend to think that the app is well protected. However, you should not forget to check all the existing security guidelines for both iOS and Android apps. These guidelines include all the information regarding the preferred security configurations, the necessary permissions, encryption procedures, and proper authorization.
#3 Perform Code Obfuscation
This is a well-known practice when developers use code obfuscation for protecting mobile solutions from being hacked. Code obfuscation comes with encryption of some code elements or the complete code. The next step is the metadata removal so that the information about the API libraries cannot be easily accessed. The final step is renaming the variables & classes.
#4 Testing the App from Time to Time
It is not possible to secure an app on the first attempt. Every year hackers become more and more equipped and inventive with sophisticated technologies to attack the apps. There are high chances of new threats every day. Thus, as an eCommerce app development company, you have to be prepared to target them and prevent them before they do any real damage.
To do this, all you have to do is simply test the mobile app from time to time. Make sure to opt for penetration testing. This helps in finding out the potential weaknesses of the app and then checking whether there is any unencrypted data, suspicious permissions that are granted to a third party, or expiry protocols.
#5 Enforce the Sessions Logout
Every customer-centric mobile app work with some sort of payment processing. There are a lot of users who forget to log out at the end of a session. This leads to major security issues. Thus, it is a good practice to enforce the session logouts within mobile applications, especially for the apps that deal with banking transactions. This is a crucial security measure for a mobile app development company.
What are the possible iOS security risks?
There is no denying the fact that Apple focuses not only on innovation, but also takes the security of every device into account. They want the same dedication & attitude from the iOS developers as well. This is not a secret that submitting the app to the App Store is stressful and takes a long time. The apps are rigorously checked by the developer team of Apple and only when everything meets the standards.
However, despite the stringent measures, there are still some vulnerabilities left that might help hackers steal passwords, personal data, and banking information. Thus, if you want to secure the iOS app, you need to address the following:
Using insecure databases: There are a lot of iOS apps that store the data in the SQL databases, cookies, and binary data that are easy targets to hackers. Thus, it is crucial to select the right database for the solution to avoid exposure or data leaks.
User authentication: It is crucial to have device-level security in iOS. This includes Touch ID & Face ID. A lot of eCommerce app development companies think this is enough to protect the data or services within the app. However, the data remains exposed. iOS apps need serious user authentication. Thus, it is the responsibility of the developers to add it.
iOS Jailbreaking: This includes finding a weak point within the kernel and then running unsigned code within the device. Thus, the person will be able to access the file system of an iOS device. Jailbreak can harm a device, compromise its safety, create update difficulties and reduce performance.
Wrapping Up
NEVER underestimate the importance of mobile security. After all, not only you are going to take care of the data safety but also the reputation of your mobile app development company. Data breaches, hacker attacks, and security holes can cause serious consequences. You might lose a lot of money along with a lot of loyal clients. You don’t want that!
