Top 3 Mobile Application Risks

by Mickey A. Consultant

Mobile applications are the present and future of business communication. A recent report claims that 90 percent of organizations are expected to have corporate applications for personal devices by 2015. Consequently, developers are likely to face crucial challenges in a competitive marketplace for customer oriented mobile apps.

Mobile applications have made it simpler for employees to manage their operations from virtually anywhere. Using mobile apps, they are now able to access enterprise applications and business platforms from their mobile devices. While mobile apps are believed to offer convenience in many ways, they are not safe from risks. However, it is important for employees as well as businesses to understand these risks to use only secure apps and protect their mobile devices and personal information from various threats. Here are a few common mobile app risks that need to be addressed consistently.

1. Mobile Phishing

Just like computers, mobile devices are also vulnerable to phishing. Cyber attackers can use apps and text messages to gain users’ trust and access data in their devices. Through a phishing app, attackers can collect your passwords, credit card numbers, contact details, and other valuable information stored in your mobile device. To prevent such instances, users must be wary of apps that ask for sensitive information for registration or come from unreliable sources.

2. Surveillance Risks

Sometimes an attacker may trick users into downloading spyware apps that keep them under constant surveillance through their own smartphones. The third-party app combined with the smartphone’s multiple sensors including camera, microphone, and GPS, may make your device a useful spying tool. These illegitimate apps can also retrieve saved emails, contact lists, and other sensitive data stored in the device. Users are advised to download only authentic apps from legitimate sources.

3. Insufficient Cryptography

Poorly implemented encryption can give users or application owners a false impression of security. Cyber attackers can easily bypass weak encryption and gain access to the encrypted data stored in a device. Custom encryption can be weaker than crypto libraries and hence allow attackers to use automated tools to crack the encryption algorithm. These costly errors by app developers may result in breach of data and other related issues.

Software experts say that an infected mobile device can affect the entire organization without having to break in some other way. As soon as an infected device gets connected with the organization’s network, the malware may have direct access to the entire system.

Keep your organization’s network safe from all mobile app threats by getting it checked by the experts at Lean Security. For our application security testing service, contact us today!