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How to protect your app, the best authenticate methods in mobile development
by Nataliia Kharchenko Marketing Copywriter With the growing number of e-commerce sites and apps, the question of security became vital. Now it`s not only about online payments, but also about your private data, and usual password doesn't work here anymore. Whether it is web, IOS or Android application development, developers all over the world create new user authentication methods, technologies and approaches to protect our personal information and to prevent us from being hacked. Let us put all ducks in a row and consider them seriatim.User authentication methods:
- Software protection dongle - is a physical object, that generates one-time code (password), once it attached it to a computer, it decodes content or unlocks software functionality.
- Smart card - is a plastic card, that reminds a credit card, with an integrated chip in it. The card can be used for two-factor user authentication, information storage and cryptographic operations performance.
- Digital certificate - is a document that proves an ownership of a public key. The document contains data about the owner`s identity, key information and digital signature. When the identity is confirmed, the signature is valid.
- Biometrics - the method uses voice, fingerprints, voice patterns, retina scans or handwritten signature to identify a person.
- Proximity - requires a specific set of conditions to be fulfilled. Generally, it is connected with geolocation of a user. The system works only when the user comes close to a specific zone.
Technologies for secure authentication
Applying Biometric method of user authentication we need to use KodeKey technology. KodeKey works without password as it uses unique user`s characteristics (usually fingerprint) as a key. However, if your gadget does not have a fingerprint scanner, KodeKey will send a simple mathematical task to your phone or tablet, after entering the answer, the system identifies you as a phone owner.
LaunchKey allows you to be identified in a variety of ways, whether it`s a long-term password, two-factor user authentication, or a real-time verification. Anyway the secret is to keep the key on your device, not on the cloud.
One of the latest technologies to secure your online life if Clef. To empower your entrance to the system you need to download an app Clef, which will use a smartphone camera to scan randomly generated image in a laptop or PC browser.
The image then decodes and the app sends a permission to your computer.
Another technology is Miracl, the system uses PIN and token instead of a usual password. Miracl server does not keep any personal data, but it stores one of a two-part key, the other part is kept on an app server.
In a mobile banking, M-pin becomes more and more popular. M-pin is a four-digit code, which can be applied for both web and mobile authentication to guarantee secure money transmission.
To protect our digital property we can also use YubiKey Neo. It's a physical key, which creates eight-symbol password every time you plug it in your computer.
Approaches to ensure the security
The protection of your mobile app is a key to success, no one would buy in your online shop if the payment way is unreliable. To make a right decision let`s take a look at the most secure ways of identity verification.
And the most common here is probably SMS verification - this feature is easy to implement to the application, however, there are lots of loopholes for swindlers, sim-card can be easily falsified, for example. More than that, you need to pay for SMS, which can fail to reach you. Fingerprint validation is a nice way to secure your users, as the finger scan stores on the phone itself, yet not all devices have a scanner and not all phones support the technology. It is not difficult to provide your customers with PIN validation, but the drawback is that it may require additional services. Smart Card or Proximity validation guarantee you high level of security, however, these devices aren't cheap, in fact, they can be stolen or broken. The digital certificate can not be restored without a password, so if the user losts it - the system gets useless.
The variety is wide, all technologies and methods provide different levels of protection and have their strong and weak sizes. Nevertheless, your choice should be based on the type of your app and on the target audience.
Daria R. is a copywriter at Cleveroad. It is a mobile and web development company in Ukraine that successfully implements various projects of any complexity. Our main aim is to help startups, small, and medium businesses create competitive and winning software.
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About Nataliia Kharchenko 
Marketing Copywriter
7 connections, 0 recommendations, 21 honor points.Joined APSense since, February 9th, 2017, From Dnipro, Ukraine.
Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.
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