How do we perform Mobile App VAPT?

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What we need from you is just the mobile app binaries. At Valency Networks, we believe in mimicking real life hackers. They have access only to your app's binaries and ideally that's all we expect from you. Once we are formally and professionally engaged with you to perform pentesting of your mobile app, we do ask few questions such as below

  • Is your mobile app developed using some framework, or uses native code?
  • Does your mobile app make calls you social media networks?
  • Does your mobile app support in-app purchases / bitcoins etc?
  • Does your mobile app embeds payment gateway within the app?
Mobile App Security Testing Company, How do we perform Mobile App VAPT?

There are few more questions besides above, which are relevant to your application's business functionality. We map all this to do threat modeling of your application and figure out how to perform the vulnerability assessment and penetration testing.

Once the app is mapped, we employ a very methodical, technical and systematic approach to perform penetration testing. While we use the detailed OWASP-Mobile-Top-10 model, the testing is broadly categorized into static analysis (data at rest) and dynamic analysis (data in transit). Please check this page to know how it is done.

What to expect from a Mobile App Pentest?

Mobile app penetration testing typically includes "data at rest" and "data in transit" security testing in context of the mobile application. This is true irrespective of whether it is Android app, or iOS app or Windows Phone app. Penetration testing tools are used as part of a penetration test to automate certain tasks, improve testing efficiency and discover issues that might be difficult to find using manual analysis techniques alone.

Two common penetration testing tool types are static analysis tools and dynamic analysis tools.Customers typically expect the app to be security tested end to end. This involves the mobile app binary as well as the backend web services. Manual penetration testing layers human expertise on top of professional penetration testing software and tools, such as automated binary static and automated dynamic analysis, when assessing high assurance applications.

A manual penetration test provides a wider and deeper approach to ensure great deal of accuracy, which is imperative for the hardening of mobile app from malicious attacks. While the vulnerability assessment does the task of finding security problems, the penetration testing proves that those findings actually do exist and shows ways to exploit those. Thus the penetration testing attempts to exploit security vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the app throughout the environment, attempting to penetrate both at the network level and key applications.

Mobile App Security Testing Company, Exploit Categories

Services for Mobile Application Penetration Testing

Vulnerabilities Detected, Mobile App Security Testing Company

  • Testing for popular Platforms and Devices
  • Testing for data at rest problems
  • Testing for data in transit problems
  • Testing for backend web services vulnerabilities
  • Testing for business logic specific problems
  • Testing for framework related inherent vulnerabilities
  • Testing for in-app purchases vulnerabilities
  • Testing for in-app social media usage vulnerabilities
  • Testing for in-app payment gateway calls vulnerabilities

The mobile application penetration testing methodology users OWASP Mobile Top 10 model to ensure that all angles of security threat vectors are tested. Valency Networks adopts an integrated approach that combines the strengths of manual penetration testing, jail breaking technology and mobile platform appropriate tools to identify security risks before they are exploited.

Mobile App Security Testing Features

Exploit Categories

  • On device code exploitation

  • Off device code injection

  • Called Web Service Exploits

  • Authentication problems

  • Configuration problems

  • SQLite Database related problems

Vulnerabilities Detected

  • Check for Weak Server Side Controls

  • Insecure Data Storage

  • Insufficient Transport Layer Protection

  • Unintended Data Leakage

  • Checks for Poor Authorization and Authentication

  • Client Side Injection

  • Security Decisions Via Untrusted Inputs

  • Improper Session Handling

  • Lack of Binary Protections

Standards Followed

  • OWASP Mobile Top 10 - 2014

Test Approaches

  • Rooting Android Device

  • Jailbreaking iOS Device

  • Without Rooting/Jailbreaking

How do you test mobile app security?

Valency Networks performs manual and tool based testing for Mobile app security. Our technical expertise is in performing manual security testing where we following hacking methods and techniques to find loopholes in the application and thus improve its security angle. To understand the testing process in detail you can visit this page:

Mobile app security testing process

Why Mobile App Security Testing is important?

With the increase in the use of mobile phones and tablets, many applications are being hosted on Google Playstore and Apple iTune store, for users availability. Users store more than just their photos and messages on their mobiles thus making mobile app security, critical and essential. Applications that deal with users critical data like finance, health, investments, etc need to ensure their mobile application is secure to avoid privacy issues and data breach incidents that can lead immense consequences. For more info:

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How do you manually test mobile app security?

There are some vulnerabilities, which can be identified by manual scan only. Some attacks such as SQL Injection, Crosssite scripting (XSS), Authentication Bypass, etc. can be accurate only when done manually. We perform Manual testing is performed on the OWASP Mobile Security Top 10 issues.

  • M1: Improper Platform Usage

  • M2: Insecure Data Storage

  • M3: Insecure Communication

  • M4: Insecure Authentication

  • M5: Insufficient Cryptography

  • M6: Insecure Authorization

  • M7: Client Code Quality

  • M8: Code Tampering

  • M9: Reverse Engineering

  • M10: Extraneous Functionality

We also follow our expert's checklist on Mobile applications security for manual testing. Manual testing helps in digging deep into the application and it functionalities to find security vulnerabilities. Find more about this :

How to test android app security

Mobile App Testing

Is CSRF Attack possible in mobile application?

No. CSRF(Cross-Site Request Forgery) is possible when there is any authentication mechanism in place like cookies which are mostly used on web applications. Mobile applications do not use cookies or other authentication mechanism as they don't have web browser storing cookies for each site you visit. Hence, CSRF is not possible on mobile applications. To read more on CSRF:

CSRF (Cross Site Request Forging) Vulnerability

What is mobile VAPT?

Mobile application VAPT essentially identifies the exploitable vulnerabilities in code, system, application, databases, and APIs before hackers can discover and exploit them. Using malicious apps can be potentially risky and untested apps may contain bugs that expose your organization’s data.

How does mobile app security work?

a. Mobile app security is the practice of safeguarding high-value mobile applications and your digital identity from fraudulent attacks in all their forms. This includes tampering, reverse engineering, malware, key loggers, and other forms of manipulation or interference

How can we make mobile apps more secure?

Following things can be done to ensure security:

  1. Source code encryption
  2. Penetration tests
  3. Secure the data-in-transit
  4. File-levelevel & Database Encryption
  5. Use the latest cryptography techniques
  6. High-level Authentication
  7. Secure the backend
  8. Minimise storage of sensitive data

How do apps store data?

Mobile apps use databases for much the same reasons desktop and web applications do. Databases allow you to store data in a secure place so you can access it later. However, apps cannot directly use external databases to store this data.

What are the possible threats to mobile applications?

Different types of mobile security threats are:

  1. Social engineering
  2. Data Leakage via malicious apps
  3. Unsecured public WIFI
  4. End to end encryption gaps
  5. Spyware
  6. Poor password habits

How do you authenticate a mobile app?

The authentication flow is as follows:

  1. The app sends a request with the user's credentials to the backend server.
  2. The server verifies the credentials If the credentials are valid, the server creates a new session along with a random session ID.
  3. The server sends to the client a response that includes the session ID.

What are the vulnerabilities related to mobile app security?

Common mobile app security vulnerabilities are:

  1. Weak server side controls
  2. Insecure data storage
  3. Insufficient Transport Layer protection
  4. Security misconfiguration
  5. Sensitive data Exposure
  6. Inadequate logging and monitoring

Why mobile application security is important?

Security testing validates an app's resistance to attacks from malicious users. It also ensures developers apply security practices when programming. To apply adequate security testing for mobile applications, it's necessary to have a solid strategy as a base

What are the types of mobile device security?

Following are the types:

  1. Traditional signature file antivirus approach
  2. Hybrid-AI cloud security
  3. Intermediary cloud Approach
  4. Mobile behavioural analysis

How to mitigate mobile security threats?

By following these six steps

  1. Keep software updated
  2. Choose mobile security
  3. Install a firewall
  4. Always use a passcode on your phone
  5. Download apps from official app stores
  6. Always read the end-user agreement

Can I use JWT for mobile apps?

To retrieve the User Profile, your mobile application can decode the ID Token using one of the JWT libraries. This is done by verifying the signature and verifying the claims of the token.

Is it safe for a mobile app to collect email and password strings from a user?

Ye, it is safe, as long as the application sends the password via HTTPS

Is API secure?

API security is a key component of modern web application security. APIs may have vulnerabilities like broken authentication and authorization, lack of rate-limiting, and code injection. Organizations must regularly test APIs to identify vulnerabilities and address these vulnerabilities using security best practices.

What are the benefits of application security?

Benefits of Application Security

  1. Reduces risk from both internal and third-party sources.
  2. Maintains the brand image by keeping businesses off the headlines.
  3. Keeps customer data secure and builds customer confidence.
  4. Improves trust from crucial investors and lenders.

What is security in mobile application development?

Mobile app security is a measure to secure applications from external threats like malware and other digital frauds that risk critical personal and financial information from hackers. Mobile app security has become equally important in today's world

Our Culture

Valency Networks is a very agile, friendly and fun loving atmosphere and yet we maintain a cutting edge technical vibrant work environment.

Mobile App Security Testing Company

Working at Valency Networks helps me gain great knowledge everyday.

Team-mate
for 3+ yrs
Mobile App Security Testing Company

Hardly goes a day when I have not learnt anything new in cyber security space and IT technologies.

Team-mate
for 6+ yrs
Mobile App Security Testing Company

Working at Valency Networks helps me gain great knowledge everyday.

Team-mate,
for 3+ yrs