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How to Improve Your Mobile App Security Knowledge

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With the increasing use of smart phones all across the world has created demands of high-end functionality, an uncompromising handiness and extra ease with less effort by its users which has boosted demand of more innovative mobile apps. On the other hands, it becomes a key necessity for mobile users to protect their valuable mobile data getting hacked from mobile hackers. Based on one survey, mobile hackers have successfully hacked many high-end and most popular apps on the app store as well as the play store. There are several popular apps, including iOS apps and Android Apps suffering from vulnerability problems, thus, it becomes a matter of concern to make sure that what makes your app secure? Hence, as a mobile app developer, it becomes essential for you to enhance the security of your app in order to give your users assurance of complete security and let them engaged to use your app for the long-term. Most of the app users left using app due to the lack of security of their mobile information. Hence, as become a mobile app developer or a mobile app development company, you should increase knowledge of mobile application security. Things to consider for increasing your Mobile App Security Knowledge: Know about Mobile Code Security Risks Hackers performing malware activities normally tap bugs in the coding and design or vulnerabilities of their targeted app. Prior to exploit the vulnerability, hackers mostly tend to acquire an app’s public copy to overturn its functionality. They revised popular apps and re-launched it on third-party app stores with malicious code to attract the users those are not aware of such tricks to install the app. Thus, it becomes vital to use tools that help developers to find and overcome security vulnerabilities and set their apps from getting tampered or reverse engineering. Mobile app developers should know about the risks of app code which is mainly vulnerabilities and malicious functionality. The malicious functionality category is a harmful and unwanted code behaviors list that becomes cautiously positioned in an app that trapped users to install it. Users are unknown of such trap and think that they installed a game or an app, but, actually, they installed phishing UI or unknown spyware. The malicious functionality includes data retrieval, activity monitoring, UI impersonation, unauthorized dialing or network connectivity or SMS or Payment, Time bomb or system modification. The vulnerabilities of mobile security are leakage/storage of sensitive data, transmission of sensitive data unsafely, and hard-coded passwords. The mobile app developers should aware about the distinct layers of mobile code security stack that includes the infrastructure layer, operating system, hardware as well as application layers. Know about the Security of Your App Data Normally, mobile apps access data, documents and other useful information are stored on the mobile device. In case of lost of mobile, it becomes harmful for data to loss or shared or misuse. In order to prevent valuable information, encryption of mobile data is a useful way for data security within the sandbox of the app that protects it from malware and other types of unauthorized access. In order to manage app data sharing on the mobile device, it requires encrypting and controlling the individual data elements. Know about the Security of the Device The security of the device is equally important to understand. The mobile app sandbox is dominant in the recent mobile operating system design that requires being protected. Rooting the device causes the harm to the original security model and thus, it is necessary to protect the device from access important data. Besides, rapidly increasing jailbreak technology utilizes to evade detection, hence, deal with such technology is vital to prevent mobile devices from big threats. Moreover, the malware of mobile is not depends on the jailbreak technology every time, hence, in mobile apps, unnecessary use of permissions granted by the users or by default can provide rogue app access or malware to basic services such as SMS used to help scam activities. Thus, app developers should think about the up-to-date intellect sources to manage the associated risk using their app. Know About Your App Testing & Security The most important part of your app development is to make throughout testing of your app. It becomes vital not to hurry to launch your app without checking for its seamless coding and accurate testing. You can use app security tools such as AppScan to make through analysis of your app and validate its behaviors prior to its release. You can use such tools to check security issues of your app. Take help of app security expert to examine your code to identify and fix the bugs, if any in your app before its release. Ensure your app is perfect as far as security concerns. App testing using a third-party app security testing tool helps you to make your app free from bugs and helps in enhancing your app security. Conclusion Improving knowledge of mobile application securities helps mobile app development companies and developers to develop highly secure apps to prevent it from vulnerability. To secure the data of users, app security is the key concern in a foolproof system development life cycle. Improving app coding security knowledge helps you in developing highly secure apps necessary to prevent valuable information of your app users and increase their trust and interest in your app. Blog Source- https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/improve-your-mobile-app-security-knowledge/

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How to Enhance the Security of Enterprise Mobile Apps

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Of late, enterprise apps have become a necessity for the business enterprises, rather than a mere luxury. In fact, most of the business firms are not hesitating in their right approach towards hiring the services of a highly proficient enterprise app development company for getting the enterprise apps developed and taking their business to the next level. Even the data presented by Adobe Systems reveal that in the year 2016, some close to 70% of the enterprises have already successfully implemented the enterprise apps and are making use of two to five customized apps. One of the primary reasons why the enterprise apps have significant become more effective is because it has brought significant improvement in the efficiency of the employees of an organization, increase in the mobility of the work and enhancing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend. Therefore, it hikes the overall productivity of the business. But considering the fact that website are easily getting attacked and targeted by the hackers, app security becomes paramount importance. The security of enterprise apps is all the more essential because the employees share the details using a common database. However, if you ensure a few vital steps to tighten the screws on the security factor, then you can save your apps from getting vulnerable. Enhancing the Security of Mobile Device Management As an app developer you should be aware of the fact that both the Android as well as the iOS Operating Systems runs the devices on different approaches. As for the instance, iOS devices are predominantly used for the enterprise apps. However, the Apple has laid down some stern terms and conditions related to the installation of the apps and other controls. Therefore, first thoroughly go through the policy enforcement of Apple because it is very particular on the security factor and will not compromise with it on any circumstance. One can cite the example of the newly launched iOS 11, which will only support the new and advanced devices and not work on the older phones. Well, if you want to manage your iOS devices appropriately, then the best way to do so is effectively using the Mobile Device Management or Enterprise Mobile Management. As such, you will come across a number of companies such as MobileIron, MaaS360, etc. who also offer their services in this regard. On the other hand, the price of the Android based devices are comparatively lower and so many of the enterprises hook to an Android phone or a tablet. It is recommended to make use of the Android for Work (A4W) for the purpose of the enterprise apps. The Android for Work is quite a useful tool as it helps in segregating the apps on two basis – personal and professional. You can surely trust on the Android for Work as it is considered safe and secure. It comprises of the device, the operating system as well as mobile device management offering the security. The App Login Verification Process The app log-in verification process is an important step that needs to be ensured if the app developer wants to boost the security arrangements. You are already aware about the malpractices of the unauthorized people trying to trespass your territory without permission. Now this security tool for the enterprise app is meant to combat such instances from accessing the private data. As a developer you will come across a number of verification logins but you can rely upon SSO (Single Sign on). Moreover, it is also budget friendly as well and at the same time is regarded as completely secure. It also allows you to login into various platforms by just using a single password. In this way you can maintain one strong password for multiple platforms that can remain confidential. In case of the retirement or resignation of the employee, his account will be deleted. Categorizing the Risk Factors As a website faces a number of risk issues during the development or even during its browsing, the same story can be repeated for the enterprise mobile apps. It must be remembered that not all security related threats fall within the same category; some are less malicious than the others. So, it is advisable to classify them in different groups so that you can know which are more dangerous and how you can solve the problem. In order to understand the threats more precisely, it is better to be familiar with source code repository, the version of the app, the data and its kind and lastly what impact the app would have in case of business failure. This will help you to give preference to the more critical risks associated with your business. You need to understand that enterprise apps are invariably different from the normal apps and so their security mustn’t be put at risk at any cost. Distribution of the App The app distribution comes into play when the designing of the app is complete. As such there are two major points where you can distribute or deploy your app. They include public app stores and enterprise app stores. The enterprise app stores mainly store information that is usually confidential and private. It keeps the information in safe custody and is shared amongst the employees of the company. The enterprise apps can remain secure by restricting the number of downloads, which means that only most important apps can only be downloaded. The enterprises don’t give any preference to apps that are of no use. Not only that the enterprise app stores also confines the accessibility for each of the applications. Security of Apps is not only the Issue If you thought that only concentrating on the app security will suffice your job and you have made your app safe, then it’s time to reconsider your decision. You also need to focus on other areas such as providing due importance to understanding of the servers and services. Plus, it also involves the security layer of the software. Apart from that, the

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The Security Factor Makes iOS Win over Android – The Specific Reasons for that

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We are all aware of the fact that both iOS and Android development platforms are the fiercest competitors of one another. In the past couple of months, both held mega events wherein they unveiled a series of highly advanced gadgets and updated Operating Systems. Although the competition is exceedingly tough in every aspect and sphere but when it comes to security factor, iOS scores the goal to knock it out of the challenge. Even this fact has been proved through a study that Android platforms becomes the victim of malware more than its counterpart. Both Google and Apple are trying their level best to offer the best secured operating system but why that Apple has excelled and experts trust iOS platforms more than Android. Let’s find out the reasons: Android is More Often an Open Source One of the prime reasons cited by the tech experts in connection to the important question is Android as an Operating System has more often an open source. It is because of this aspect that anybody can get an access to what’s going on in the Android platform. However, having any such penetration in iOS is nearly very difficult if not impossible. The experts also view that the threat becomes more evident in case a user is trying to modify his phone and he does not get satisfactory results. It becomes easier for the hackers to trace your phone and get into the details. The security issue will still be a matter of concern even if the modification is conducted by a developer. The open source of Android also allows hackers to distribute malware. But for this reason, you have to blame Google and not the developers. On the other hand, Apple is very strict in imposing the terms and conditions with respect to downloading and control over the software. This simply means you cannot launch every app on the Apple app store unlike Google Play Store. One can cite the instance of Apple versus FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) case where Apple did not comply the requests of investigating agency to unlock an iPhone 5C. This shows how stringent it is related to security. The Enterprise Apps: iOS is Winner The enterprise mobile apps has become as a big boon for the enterprise and business communities as it has eased out the pressure of work to a much extent. It has enabled the employees to work efficiently even outside the premises of office through the introduction of BYOD technique. But having said that has also raised questions on security as everyone is sharing the same data via his/her device. Here again both competitors gave a tough fight for the top spot and took every step to enhance the security of the apps. In both cases the developers have the opportunity to build a secured area which is free from user profile data and allows to install enterprise apps. Tools such as app specific VPN tunnels, and data encryption also helps in securing the network data. After this your device will not act as personal but get converted to a specific device for accessing the enterprise apps. Although both are prone to security breaches, Android has more than the iOS. The discussion here again is the open source versus closed source but it does not a big impact. What influences is the mode of updating and implementation of the OS software. The iOS is declared winner because many operating systems tend to operate at one time, which turns out to be unsecured. On the contrary, Apple is not that easy fruit to pluck on. It secures the unique technology and can also not allow to view the data so as to create any security hole. In fact, no third party can easily open its part. Apart from that, any outsider can also not go through the contact list or the UDID number of phone as it has control over infrastructure of the device. Android gives you the space to go through the details. Jailbreak is Harder Nut to Crack in iOS You must probably have heard about the jailbreak in a phone that has propped to be a major security concern in the recent times. In simplest of terms it means removing the software restrictions imposed by the Apple. It cannot be said that it is an impossible task but it is a difficult to do so especially in the advanced versions of the phone. As a matter of fact, the messaging app in Android is more vulnerable all due to the open code. But Apple is very particular and selective in terms of releasing its code and keeps a keen eye on what the developers are doing. That is the reason why it is more difficult to design an iOS app in comparison to Android app. Apple in case finds that its iPhone is jailbroken, it will lock the phone out. It has a complete control over the hardware and the software tools. App Testing – iOS is Better Mobile App Testing is supposed to be an important procedure before the app is finally released on the app store and goes live for the end users. As far as testing of the apps is concerned, Apple does not leave a single margin for error from its side and is very stern on this parameter. All the pass have to go through a hard test before being allowed to download from app store. However, although Google also follows the same policy but the test it conducts on its apps is not as thorough as iOS. That is the reason more apps are available on the Google Play Store in comparison to Apple App Store. Online Digital Payment: Go for Apple Pay If we are talking about the security factor and finding reasons on why iOS is better secured than Android, discussing the online payment becomes essential criteria. Even people around the globe are making cashless transactions, they seem to be also concerned about

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How Biometric Authentication is Empowering Bank Security

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Whether you believe it or not, but the cyber threat is posing real challenges for both government as well as private organizations. However, the financial institutions always remain a crucial target for the cyber hackers. As technology is transforming, the nature and mindset of cyber-criminals are also changing. They have become shrewder and know the technical aspect of unlocking a door without even having access to its keys. We have already witnessed one of the major cyber threats in the form of Ransomeware Attack in 2017 affecting more than two hundred thousand people globally. Therefore, bolstering the security arrangements for the banking and Fintech industry should be the topmost concern for the IT sector. According to a report published by Global Market Insights, the usage of technology would upsurge up to 22% within a span of 2017 to 2024. Yes, one may think of various options to tighten the security screws but of late, biometrics has become a viable choice to achieve one’s end. It is ahead of its time technology that literally does not focus on passwords, PIN numbers, and lock patterns but instead identifies an individual through his physiological or behavioral trait. This may include scanning the face, the fingerprints, iris, matching the voice sample, and handwriting etc. This makes the job quite difficult for hackers to indulge in any kind of illegal or scam activities. The cyber experts tend to believe that security norms like passwords or PINs would soon be replaced by a more reliable and authentic process such as the biometrics. In fact, Apple has already taken a giant stride forward and introduced the Touch ID and Face ID authentication in new versions of the iPhone models. Even the Android manufacturing devices are not lacking behind and the same technology is also being initiated there too. The banking sector is seriously pondering over implementing the biometrics to boost up the security loopholes. It’s because this technology has already made a successful mark in mobile devices and applications. So, it’s the right time to take this technique forward and offer a much secured environment to their customers. In this fast-paced world, most of the banks are offering online banking services through websites or mobile apps. And certainly, this number is going to surge in the future. Therefore, customers are searching for more assurance and fortification when it comes to conducting online transactions. The biometrics will allow to login into one’s account quickly without the stressing of typing password and memorizing it. According to a statistic report, the biometric authentication market is expected to reach about $24.59 billion by 2023 with around 2.6 billion biometric users worldwide. Indeed, a survey says that biometric authentication process has received a positive response from the users with 56% people trusting on the fingerprint technology. Some of the major financial service providers such as MasterCard and Citi Treasury have already planned to integrate the biometric technology in the following year with fingerprint face detection. However, the old methods like PIN are not going anywhere and will stay to offer security. The Reduction in Use of Passwords As told earlier that financial institutions and organizations need to pull their socks up as they cannot merely rely on passwords and PIN numbers. No bank wants to take any change and compromise on the security front. Tech giants such as Microsoft and Intel have already begun creating and incorporating the biometric id where the integration of biometric Single Sign-On (SSO) password management technique has become the focal point for future. It helps in securing and managing the confidential data from the hackers. Increase in Numbers of Biometric Enabled Devices Almost all major Smartphone Manufacturing Companies such as Google, Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, LG, Honor, HTC, and more have already implemented the biometric authentication feature in their devices. According to Gartner, about 30% of the Smartphone devices already have this bonus facility as a robust secured system. Not to say that this figure will only hike in the future and therefore, the banking industry should take full advantage of this facility. Other Platforms Embracing Biometric Technology With the increment in the popularity of the biometric technology, it is no more restricted to banking apps, but has got other payment gateway integration apps on the forum as well. One can certainly cite the example of Apple Pay, implementing the Apple Touch ID and facial recognition to identify the user. Credit goes to Apple for starting the Touch ID, which indeed has spread to the other platforms as well, specifically the banks. Some banks initiating this advanced technology include HSBC, American Express, and Tangerine. The Option of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) There are various other options that are strictly under the process of consideration such as the Multi-Factor Authentication or MFA. This alternative is apart from PINs and passwords, which have become vulnerable and can be targeted easily by the cyber pirates. In this process, the two techniques of biometric authentication is combined; it may include fingerprint and iris scan. This is one of the hardest nuts to crack for the hackers and access the customer’s account details. Biometric Identification Methods There are two different approaches when it comes to the biometric identification methods. In the first case, you have to take the help of the built-in biometric sensors and the attaching portable biometric hardware using a USB cable. In the second option, you can do the same using Wi-Fi connectivity. Some extensively employed techniques or methods include: Fingerprint Scan Undoubtedly, the fingerprint scanning is one of the most popular and widely used biometric authentication processes. This technique is followed on several devices. Face ID The facial recognition or the face ID is widely used at the bank ATMs and while conducting the transactions on mobile apps or online. However, the other factors such as lighting condition and position of the face also play a vital role in authentication. Iris and Retina Scan This method has also become common especially when you are applying for any important document

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