Bridging the Security Gaps of your Android App During the Development Process

According to a report released by IHS Market, “By the year 2020 there will be more than 6 billion smartphone devices across the globe.”

Android has taken over the globe tremendously in the last few years. We are seeing huge growth potential in the hardware. Global consumer spending on mobile apps is deemed to increase. It has been estimated that by the year 2020, all the app stores in accumulation will generate a revenue of more than $100 billion on a global scale. This forecast will definitely come true in the coming years. We are not far from the future when people will go crazy over applications. All these things will encourage the trend for Android app development. This trend is only going to become bigger, thanks to an increase in the spending for enterprise Android app development services. But, app development is the beginning.

Before the application gets launched, there are lots of different challenges that need to be overcome. The app needs to be comprehensively tested for different types of parameters, including performance, functionality, compatibility, and most important security. This blog has been written to provide you with a fair glimpse of the different things that you need to take care of as an Android developer during the development process so that there are no security lapses once the app gets up and running. 

In the forthcoming sections of this write-up, we have provided the best practices that you as an Android developer needs to follow for Android app security during the development process. We promise once you have read this content piece you will be in a much better position to take care of the security measures which will help in bridging the security gaps during the development process of Android apps. 

But, before we divert our attention to the best practices it is time to look at what makes security such a critical factor during the Android app development process. Most of the time it has been observed that businesses tend to avoid testing the app before the launch. In fact, you will be surprised to know that approximately 50% of companies do not have a budget allocated for mobile app security. This is statistics released by a report from IBM. If you do not take the necessary precautions to secure the mobile app development for the customer it means that you are giving an open invitation to hackers. This way they can have easy access to customers, users, and corporate data. It becomes easier for them to jailbreak Android devices and reverse engineer apps to get access to confidential data. 

Every enterprise today is concerned about the data breach. Due to a data breach, the company’s name gets highlighted for the wrong reasons. This can have an adverse effect on their brand identity resulting in a negative perception of the company. If a company loses out on confidential information it can drag them into a potential long-term legal battle with lawsuits.

Some of the top security threats that Android app developers need to watch out during the development process include:

1. Improper platform usage;
2. Insecure communication, authorization, and authentication;
3. Broken cryptography;
4. Poor client code quality;
5. Reverse engineering;
6. Extraneous functionality.

It has been estimated that approximately 90% of Android apps do not have adequate protection. On top of this, they are also vulnerable to a minimum of two risks given above. Due to the alarming rise in size and frequency of the data breaches, it is time for the businesses to concentrate on bridging the security gaps of their Android app during the development process. Now that you have understood the importance of security during the development phase of Android apps, as promised it is time to look at the best practices.

Ensure that the Native Code is Secure

It is important for you as an Android developer to keep the native code secure. One way to do that is by employing the Android SDK for mobile app development instead of Android NDK. If you are collaborating with other developers, it is extremely critical to ensure that they employ Android SDK.

The amazing thing is, when the native code is including the Android app development process, the app gets the data across the network. It can be in the form of a file or an IPC which can be exposed to security factors. The best resort is to keep the native code secure by employing Android SDK during the development process.

Increase the Authentication to the Highest Level

Time has come when most of the developers are now betting on multi-factor authentication. Reason? It ensures that the security of your sensitive information remains intact through a disconnected system and robust session management. It is time for you to prioritize the relevance of setting up of the advanced authentication mechanism by employing tools, including OAuth 2.0 or JSON web tokens. 

This way there is an additional security layer which is provided to the Android  apps. Due to the secure access gateway which is also integrated chances are, the corporate resources can only be accessed by authorized applications and compliant devices. 

Securing the Code through Obfuscation

As a part of the Android application development process, it is important to protect the source code. This can be done by you simply through obfuscation i.e.; making it unintelligible for both humans and decompiler. While undergoing the process of compilation, it is important that the complete operation is preserved. 

With the help of the right obfuscation process, it is possible to get a code that is impenetrable. It provides a high degree of confidentiality for sensitive data and also ensures that there is no way to reverse engineer. This way it enhances the security of the Android application.

Data Encryption

It is extremely vital for you as an Android developer to ensure that all the information that is stored in the device is highly secured. This includes the data that is transmitted between the back-end server and the application along with source code. 

By not including certificate pinning, you can confirm the application’s back-end web services. By encrypting the data you are providing ample security to the Android application during the development process. This is one of the most critical information that can be stolen by potential hackers. 

Keeping the Server Secured from the Hackers by Adding Firewalls

Nowadays, we are seeing hackers targeting servers. They target the API of the server. Hence, as an Android developer, it becomes imperative for you to ensure that your server and API is secure from these attacks from hackers. One way to counter this situation by adding a firewall for web applications. Alternatively, you can carry out code reviews to ensure that you have the necessary mechanism in hand to counter this challenge. 

Secure your Transit Data

It is extremely critical for you to ensure that your transit data is protected all the time. This has to be done proactively by keeping your defense mechanism strong. A prime example of this is, it is imperative for you to ensure that there is an advanced mechanism to detect jailbreak. Also, the access control needs to be status-based. 

 

On top of this, if the devices have been declared non-compliant there should not be anyone to get access to the corporate data. In case the device gets lost or stolen, the complete application consisting of the business data should get automatically deleted. This way you can ensure that the sensitive information does not get into wrong hands. 

Include Anti-Tamper Mechanisms 

During the Android application development process, it is extremely critical to include anti-tamper mechanisms. This includes anti-virus, activity logs, and signature verification. This way it will become possible for you to detect any vulnerable or infected libraries which have been added to the source code of the application.

Test and Update the Android App on a Regular Basis

It has been observed and clarified by a research report that Android devices are employing an old version of Android version by a minimum of two years. This means that three-quarters of the Android devices are vulnerable to attacks from hackers. They can easily exploit the weaknesses and vulnerability in the software. 

It has been observed that whenever you, Android developers have tried to bridge the security gaps of your Android apps during the development process, the hackers are able to exploit some other weaknesses. It is not even possible for Google to minimize these threats. But, one counter-attack strategy that can work is to update your Android OS on a regular basis to ensure that you are not vulnerable to such attacks. You can also utilize penetration testing for server-side checks.

Store the Critical Data on Client Side

In case your device gets stolen or lost, the sensitive information is prone to threats. There are also chances that the device is not secure as it is prone to jailbreak by users to avail extra software and features. This way, the security feature gets lost. The best way to resolve this concern is by storing sensitive and critical data on the client side. This way there is a way to prevent permanent loss of data.

Parting Thoughts

There are times when businesses try to rush things which although meets their operation but fail to detect the security loopholes in the Android app during the development phase. But, by implementing the best practices mentioned in this write-up you can bridge the security gaps of your Android app during the development stage. If you wish to avail the state-of-the-art security features integrated into your Android application during the development stage avail the Android app development services from an experienced Android development company today!