Providing security in mobile apps is not just a feature; it’s a necessity. Since mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular, they’re becoming prime targets for hackers.
Considering our relationship with smartphones, you’ll see much personal information in those apps. When we use an app, we put information like name, address, phone numbers, passwords, and even credit card information. That can be easily accessible for cybercriminals if there’s no decent mobile app security.
In addition, as an app developer, you should take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of user data.
Here are 5 ways how to provide security in mobile apps:
- Maintain best security practices while programming
- Enforce strong authentication and two-factory authentication
- Encrypt sensitive information
- Use authorized APIs
- Secure server and backend
1. Maintain Best Security Practices While Programming
Because most of the code is on the client side, mobile malware can easily trace the defects inside a mobile app’s source code and design. Many hackers make use of bugs and vulnerabilities in a code as their entry point into an app. They just need a public copy of your software to modify your code and reverse engineer. Secure your code from the beginning and make it difficult to crack. To prevent reverse engineering, your code should be minified and obscured. Repeatedly test, and when bugs are found, fix them. Another important point is to keep technologies and 3’rd party components up to date. This is a small detail that is easy to ignore, but maintaining the codebase is really important to keep track of best security practices.
2. Enforce Strong Authentication and Two-Factory Authentication
Authentication refers to passwords and other forms of personal identification that serve as barriers to admission.
The apps should be developed to accept only strong alphanumeric passwords. Additionally, changing passwords regularly is preferable to be a requirement for users. You can increase security in mobile apps by using fingerprint or face scan biometric authentication. While the end users of your application do play a significant role in this, you, as a developer, may encourage them to be more sensitive to authentication.
Two-factor authentication is a security process that offers users two different authentication factors to verify themselves. Compared to authentication that depends on only one factor, two-factor authentication is a higher level of security. With two-factor authentication, the device is protected since it’s harder for attackers to access it even if they get the user’s password.
3. Encrypt Sensitive Information
Data encryption is important for security in mobile apps. It is the process where data is encoded so unauthorized users can’t find or access it. Private information, sensitive data, and the security of communication between client apps and servers are all protected by it. Basically, when your data is encrypted, even if someone has access to it without authorization, they won’t be able to read it.
4. Use Authorized APIs
Unauthorized and poorly written APIs may unknowingly provide hackers access to systems they could abuse severely. When performing API requests, for instance, programmers can reuse permission information by caching it locally. Additionally, making it simpler to access APIs makes life easier for coders. However, it also provides an opening for privilege escalation for attackers. For best security in mobile apps, experts advise central authorization of APIs.
5. Secure Server and Backend
Most mobile apps have a client-server mechanism. Security measures to protect against malicious attacks against your backend servers are essential. Most developers assume that APIs can only be accessed by apps that were programmed to access them. However, API authentication and transport mechanisms can vary from platform to platform, so you should review all APIs according to the mobile platform you plan to code for.
Provide security in mobile apps!
Without a doubt, cybersecurity has always been an issue for users. The same is about mobile apps. Security in mobile apps is a feature your app must have. So, when developing an app, pay attention to the ways you secure your app. There are many ways to provide security in mobile apps; we listed just a few.
