Mobile app security has become evenly important in today’s world. A rupture in mobile security can give hackers access to the user’s personal life in real-time, also disclose data like their location, personal & banking related information, and much more.

App Developers should aim to create applications that meet all user expectations regarding security & safety. All the below approaches and methods enable successful application development, making it difficult for attackers to get access to sensitive data.

Let’s find out some best practices for mobile security

App-Level Security

To achieve data security, Encryption is the most operative way. The sensitive data in all mobile applications developed should be encrypted with complex algorithms such as RSA, AES, and DES.

Server Side Security

While developing mobile applications mobile backend security is also important. Below are the few things you need to know to protect your mobile sensitive data:

• Use HTTPS back end for all API calls as this protocol is designed for secure communications over computer networks and the internet.
• API call limits on the server-side.
• Authentication should expire after a reasonable amount of time.

Protected local storage

Local storage: where Applications media files, settings files, and other files are stored.

In protected local storage, data is encrypted with the help of a key. And to read these encrypted files(video, text, audio, etc.) we have to decipher it by a key (eg.password) which converts data back into the plain text.

Code Obfuscation

Code obfuscation is the intentional act of creating a source code or machine code that is difficult for hackers to understand. 

Obfuscators are used to automatically convert programming code into a format that cannot be understood by humans. 

How does it work?

• It encrypts some or the entire code.
• It removes metadata which may reveal information about the libraries or APIs used.
• It renames classes and variables so they cannot be guessed

In iOS, obfuscation technique is not generally used as its libraries are closed, whereas Android has open-source libraries so it becomes necessary for android developers to obfuscate code.

Encrypt Cache

A device’s cache saves data for all apps and websites that have been used on the device. If the cache is not encrypted, hackers can easily access data stored in it. Clearing the cache every now and then is necessary to free up some space on your phone or tablet.

Session Handling

One of the best ways to handle sessions more securely is to use tokens instead of device identifiers as it can be revoked whenever needed. Another option is to consider session expiration while developing an application.

Here in Neova, we develop applications that satisfy the needs of the user and focus their efforts on the security aspect as well.

Additional resources

For more information about making your application more safe & secure, consult the following resources.

• Android: App security best practices
• iOS: Security