Top 10 Things to Consider For Mobile App Security

1. Strong Hack-proof Code: Mobile apps are highly vulnerable to malware attacks and data breaches and this mandates that developers pay extra attention to write a robust code that is free from backdoors which in turn could be infringed by hackers. This is one of the essentials of mobile application security. App developers must implement mobile app security standards and make sure that their apps utilize, transmit, or store bare minimum data. Security has to be the top priority during the entire lifecycle of mobile app development, starting from design, development, testing, deployment, to maintenance (regular version updates)

2. Optimize Security Features on a Platform-by-platform Basis Mobile apps work on various platforms, devices, operating systems, and networks. These apps also access a lot of other features of the phone. The developers should be cautious about the features, capabilities, and limitations of various devices, operating systems and so on. By taking these aspects into consideration and optimizing the security based on the platforms on which the app would be used, a more secure mobile app can be designed

3. Remove Unnecessary Security Risks: Each mobile app has its own set of features. Some features might not be so vital to the overall functioning of the app, such as social network connectivity. The designers and developers of mobile applications should pay special attention to such features and take a call whether they need to keep them within the app or not. Such high security features should be managed effectively to ensure overall mobile app security, and if unnecessary, be removed

4. Allow User Permissions For granular control over the app, mobile app developers can make their devices more secure by implementing security measures at the application layer. This allows users to select their own level of security settings based on personal preferences and keep their devices safe from malicious applications

5. Choose Third-party Libraries Wisely: Third-party libraries are highly popular amongst mobile app developers. They utilize the code offered in such libraries, but threats might lurk in that code. It is advisable to thoroughly test the codes taken from third-party libraries before incorporating it with your own mobile app code, since many might have malicious code lurking around

6. Select a Reliable Backend: Security of backend systems is also important while developing mobile apps. Hackers can gain access to the backend systems and pose a threat to your entire operation. Therefore, just like the frontend systems, backend systems should also go through rigorous security testing before eventual deployment

7. Deploy Tamper-detection Techniques: Deploy techniques that minimize code tampering. It is commonly known that attackers insert malicious code into mobile apps and then automatically get the data and publish it elsewhere. There are various tamper detection and anti-tamper techniques that could be included in your mobile app coding so that you get warned when any such activity occurs, such as verifying the apps signature at runtime, identifying app installer, performing environment checks, etc

8. Ensure Data Security during Transit and Storage: The biggest challenge posed to mobile app security is that mobile apps have to connect with external networks. They connect to internet via Wi-Fi, cellular networks, VPN, non-encrypted networks, and so on. This has to be given special consideration by developers and precautions should be taken to encrypt data during transit. All the critical user information like login details, passwords, personal info should be encrypted. The data should be stored in encrypted data containers and any unnecessary data should not be stored within phone memory at all

9. Test Thoroughly: Probably the most important security check you can perform is by thoroughly testing the app. This is because the application goes through a lot of hands and different versions during the development and post-production. Mobile app security testing should be the priority at every stage of development. Also make sure that your app is designed as per the security regulations given by credit card industry, GPS, device manufacturers, etc. Also, ensure that your app is frequently updated

10. Use the Latest Cryptography Techniques: Most widely used cryptographic protocols and algorithms such as MD5 and SHA1 are insufficient as per modern security standards. Therefore it is better to use state-of-the-art encryption APIs such as 256-bit AES encryption combined with SHA-256 for hashing. As a developer, you should also invest in threat modeling, penetration testing, etc.