It is clear from the threat landscape that mobile app are just as vulnerable to cyber threats that mobile app security testing has trouble detecting such as malware, phishing, pharming Man In the Middle attacks, etc as web apps. What are the dangers when attackers try to reverse and tamper with app code, especially when it’s been jailbroken or rooted.

Implementing basic security measures such as anti-virus, malware protection, runtime app security protection, and mobile app security testing is not always enough to stop a motivated attacker. What about when a hacker reverse and modifies your software to get a better understanding or it or to release a malicious version on to app stores, e.g. Pokemon Go.

These reason also overlook a greater risk, when hackers aim to get access to the backend infrastructure of an app, often as a way into the wider assets of a company. What can be done to stop this?

An attack to reverse, tamper or debug an app can be made ineffective with the help of concrete mitigation steps. Let us look at some of those:

• Fumbling an application code makes it very difficult for the attacker to understand the meaning and flow of the code, thus making the hacking process further hard for them.
• Encrypting all app files, assets and resources, making it harder for hackers to access them. In case the code gets tampered with, it will still not allow a modified app to run.
• Creating a debugger app to mitigate reverse engineering when connecting an app to debugger.
• Making mobile app security testing a part of application development process.

All security professionals need to consider assessing their organization’s security posture and proactively take mitigation steps to reduce the probability of security threats to mobile apps.

Codified Security is here to help make your mobile app secure whether it’s for iOS, Android, or to make sure you’re clearing the OWASP Mobile Top 10. For mobile app security testing try out Codified Security.