9 Important Mobile App Security Practices for Developers

The security of the app does not work out to be a benefit or a feature as it is a necessity. A simple breach might cause the company millions of dollars or a trust breach. For this reason, security has to be of paramount importance even before you write the first code for the app development. When you on route to be developing some of the innovative and exciting apps, some security breaches might have gone on to shake the entire world. On the other hand, if you consider the critical relationship that we have with our smartphones there is a lot of information that is floating around providing access to criminals. Therefore, Application protection is something that works out to be beneficial in the long run.

With a single break in a user can have access to all your personal information mainly your name, age or it could be your account details. The exchange of enterprise applications that exceed sensitive information is on the prowl now. With such information at stake, the onus is on the mobile developers to undertake everything at their end for protecting their clients or users. Now let us explore various important ways by which a developer can incorporate security into their apps.

In scripting a secure code

Vulnerabilities or bugs might turn out to be the starting point for most attackers to be making way into an application. They are going to reverse engineer the code and tamper with it. Just they might be requiring a public copy of the app for the same. Research points to the fact that malicious code is having an impact on a lot of users. It is necessary that you are aware of the security of the code from day one.

Encryption of all data

Every data that is exchanged over the app has to be encrypted. It is one of the ways to be scrambling plain text as it is might replicate a vague concept. In fact, it is useful to all those who can derive meaning from the key. What it means is that even if the data is stolen the criminals are not going to use it.

With libraries an extra degree of caution

When you are using third party libraries, exercise caution carefully and the code has to be checked carefully before you use it on the app. Some of the libraries might be really insecure for your app. There were security flaws in place that were not detected for many years. The developer should be relying on the use of an internal repository that is controlled and during acquisition exercise a series of control measures in place. It is going to protect the apps from any glaring issues in the app.

Authorized APIS are to be used

The APIS is not authorized and it is coded in a loose way. A hacker can unintentionally use this privilege to be using this information by relying on API calls. At another level, it is going to make the life of the coders easier as they are using API. In the midst of this, it provides hackers with a loophole by which they could be hacking privileges. Experts are of the opinion that it is better to authorize the APIS for the maximum level of security.

Authentication at a high level

Some of the biggest breaches did occur due to a weak authentication system. The need of the hour is for proper authentication. When it relates to the authentication it is all about a strong password along with personal identifiers. It is going to evolve and that depends upon the end-user of an authentication. But being a developer you have to ensure that the users are more sensitive to the process of authentication.

Stick to a principle of the least privilege

By this principle, it points to the fact that a code is going to run since it needs permission. It is not going to need a lot more. The app should not request for more than the additional privileges that what is needed more than it to seek information. No point to be making unnecessary network connections. Finally, the list boils down to the specific features of the app and since you update the code the app is going to undertake threat modeling.

Rely on the best handling of the session

A session on mobile is going to last a longer time than a laptop. For the server, session handling becomes a difficult task. Rather than device identifiers, you can use a token system to identify a session. The best part about tokens is that they are secure and you can modify them if they are lost. There has to be a wiping of data on a remote basis from a stolen device and enable logging off the remote off.

Opt for the best cryptography tools and techniques

So that the encryption efforts take off key management is the key. There is no point in hard code the keys as attackers can steal them in an easy way. A suggestion is to save the keys in a secure container and no point in storing them locally at a device. The normal cryptographic tools in the form of SHA1 and MD5 are not that capable by modern standards of security.

Test on a regular basis

When you are securing an app it is a process that is not going to end pretty soon. New threats are going to emerge on a regular basis and you might have to come up with solutions. You have to be investing in threat modeling, penetration testing, or be it emulators so as to be testing your app for grey areas. After every update, you have to fix them and when required take stock of the patches.

Wrap-up

By following the above set of guidelines you can ensure the smooth security of your app. It is more of an oyster that keeps your users and clients happy.