Extensive penetration testing for your <span>mobile applications</span>

Mobile Application Security Testing

Extensive penetration testing for your mobile applications

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Mobile application security testing

It's never been easier for organisations to process large volumes of data on mobile apps, but this convenience comes with plenty of risks. In today’s world where everything is connected so closely, there are risks attached not just for organisations but also those who depend upon the information stored within these apps.

Mobile application security testing is one type of penetration tests our experts offer to ensure your apps, customers and reputation are protected.

What is a mobile application security test?

Penetration testing or a ‘pen test’ is an authorised simulation of a cyber attack carried out by a security expert. For a Mobile Application Security Test (MAST), one of our CREST accredited team take a proactive approach, acting as a hacker to identify and analyse vulnerabilities. This can be during or post development and across all platforms.

What are the benefits of a mobile application pen test?

Protect the users of your application.

Help your developers understand the unique risks presented by mobile applications.

Meet compliance and regulatory requirements, such as ISO 27001 and GDPR.

Identify vulnerabilities in your system before cyber criminals can.

Ensure sensitive data is protected should the mobile device be lost or stolen.

Prevent attackers from weaponising your application against you.

Why does my business need a mobile application penetration test?

The number of mobile applications continues to grow with some organisations having multiple applications to deliver - sometimes critical - services. Like any other application, mobile applications can have vulnerabilities introduced in design or implementation which could be exploited with devastating effect.

Unlike web where the application usually runs on a remote server, having the mobile application run on the local phone or tablet provides additional options for an attacker to debug the application and find otherwise hidden vulnerabilities.

Having a mobile application penetration test conducted by an experienced consultant will identify vulnerabilities and allow these to be remediated at the earliest opportunity. With billions of apps being downloaded each year and an astronomical volume of data being processed, it’s no surprise that they’re attractive targets for cyber criminals.

If your mobile application is collecting personal information then you should consider GDPR Article 32 (d) which requires the following "a process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organizational measures for ensuring the security of the processing”.

Although this does not specifically require penetration testing it would be impossible to ensure the security of processing otherwise. If your organisation were to suffer a breach and had not taken steps to understand the security posture of the application, then the IPO would be unlikely to view this favourably.

Why is a manual mobile application security assessment important?

Whilst there are several automated applications that will provide a limited view of your mobile application security posture, these are no substitute for manual testing conducted by an experienced consultant which offers infinite flexibility together with a higher likelihood of discovering vulnerabilities.

Manual testing is better suited to finding more advanced vulnerabilities such as flaws in application logic or with authorisation and access control mechanisms. Manual testing is also more controlled and less likely to cause an impact on service.