Even though a high percentage of organizations told researchers they feel confident that their mobile apps are secure, 62% still had breaches last year. It’s not too surprising, considering that mobile apps manage logins, payments, sensitive data, and business logic.
The good news is that most mobile app security issues are well documented, and there’s guidance to help developers prevent them. The challenge, however, is applying that knowledge consistently across Android and iOS apps and making sure it’s done early in the development process.
Understanding Mobile App Security
Mobile app security is about protecting applications from threats such as data leaks, unauthorized access, and malicious manipulation.
Writing secure code is obviously important, but mobile app security also covers:
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Securing data stored on the device.
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Protecting communication with backend services.
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Enforcing authentication and authorization correctly.
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Resisting modification and reverse engineering.
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Managing and updating third-party libraries and SDKs.
To follow best security practices, mobile app security should be embedded throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC), not only once it’s ready to be deployed.
The Importance of Mobile App Security
Mobile apps are often an entry point to critical data and systems, so if something goes wrong, the impact can be immediate.
Cybercriminals exploit security vulnerabilities to steal personal information, business data, corporate secrets, and financial data, exposing organizations to serious cyber threats.
Weak mobile app security can also lead to:
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Account takeover and abuse of application features.
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Regulatory and compliance issues.
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Loss of user trust and brand damage.
Including security early helps reduce risk and avoids expensive fixes later, as attackers know that mobile apps rely heavily on client-side logic.
OWASP Mobile Top 10 for Mobile App Security
The OWASP Mobile Top 10 is one of the most well-known and used frameworks for understanding mobile app security risks. It lists the issues developers most often have to deal with when building and testing Android and iOS applications.
Teams can identify and mitigate potential security threats throughout the app development process, supporting continuous security evaluations and vulnerability assessments.
It works best as a way to understand where mobile apps typically fail and how those failures can be exploited.
1. Improper Credential Usage
At the top of the list is how hardcoded passwords, weak secrets, or insecurely handled tokens can give attackers an entry point into your app or backend systems.
Seemingly minor mistakes, such as storing a token in plaintext or using predictable API keys, can lead to breaches.
Back in 2024, security researchers found that popular apps like Crumbl, with millions of users, had hardcoded AWS credentials stored in plain text. Anyone who decompiled these apps could extract access keys, secret keys, and even S3 bucket names.
These issues often make their way in during development because they seem convenient at the time, but go unnoticed during normal testing.
2. Inadequate Supply Chain Security
Supply chain security has been in the news a lot lately, and it applies to mobile security, too. Any third-party components, such as libraries and SDKs, can introduce vulnerabilities if they’re not verified or updated, potentially leading to supply chain attacks. These security gaps are appealing to attackers because they don’t even have to touch any custom code.
Take the Gravy Analytics breach, for example. The company that collects and sells location data tracked over a billion mobile devices daily through advertising SDKs embedded in thousands of apps. The compromised data exposed the movements of millions of users across well-known apps.
3. Insecure Authentication/Authorization
What happens when an attacker can bypass your login screen, hijack an active session, or trick the app into giving them admin privileges? In mobile apps, these authentication and authorization flaws are often worse because users stay logged in for long periods and tokens are reused across sessions.
To reduce security risks, mobile apps should request only the permissions they need, following the principle of least privilege and reducing the attack surface.
Also, many mobile apps depend on client-side checks and trust requests that should be validated server-side.
4. Insufficient Input/Output Validation
Apps accept data from multiple sources that can’t be trusted, such as user input and API responses. Without proper validation and encoding, that data can crash your app, or worse, let attackers inject malicious code.
A search field may become an SQL injection point, or an API response containing scripts may get executed. Or what about when a serialized object, such as user session data or cached API responses, is deserialized without validation? Attackers can execute arbitrary code through crafted payloads.
5. Insecure Communication
If a user connects to a coffee shop’s Wi-Fi and opens an app, and the traffic isn’t properly encrypted or certificate validation is weak, an attacker on the same network can intercept everything, including login credentials, personal data, and payment information.
It could happen when a developer disables SSL pinning during testing and then forgets about it. Compromised credentials can lead to account takeovers, data theft, and backend system breaches.
Using secure communication protocols such as HTTPS, TLS, and SSL is vital to protect data transmission, prevent interception, and ensure end-to-end encryption between mobile apps and servers.
6. Inadequate Privacy Controls
When teams collect or store data, they need to put proper safeguards in place; otherwise, it becomes a privacy risk or a compliance issue.
Apps that overlog, request unnecessary permissions, or don’t get the right consent can expose personally identifiable information (PII), which is a serious trust violation.
If teams don’t manage location data, contacts, or payment information properly, they’re risking user distrust and fines (and possibly even lawsuits). Privacy needs to be part of the design process, with threat modeling, not something that’s thought of at the end.
7. Insufficient Binary Protections
For a skilled attacker, reverse-engineering an unprotected mobile app may only take minutes.
Without security measures such as obfuscation (which makes code or data difficult for humans and machines to understand), tamper detection, or anti-debugging protections, attackers find it easier to exploit systems. They can then study the app’s logic, find hardcoded secrets, or insert malicious code.
The functionality of the app often seems to work fine, but if these protections are missing, then attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in authentication, encryption, or API calls. Also, don’t leave debug logs in production; otherwise, sensitive information could be exposed.
8. Security Misconfiguration
Misconfigurations are appealing to attackers because they’re an easy way to get into the system. They look for:
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Default settings that were never hardened.
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Permissions that give more access than needed.
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Debug endpoints that are left exposed in production.
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Logging that shows secrets.
Security misconfigurations often appear gradually, as new features are added or environments change.
Insecure development practices, such as rushed development cycles or not following secure coding best practices, can lead to misconfigurations that introduce vulnerabilities.
Leaving an unused API endpoint active, enabling logging that exposes secrets, or failing to harden configuration files can all give attackers a shortcut into otherwise secure systems.
9. Insecure Data Storage
Most mobile apps store data locally, which is necessary and improves performance and user experience. Where it goes wrong is what gets stored and how it’s stored. Credentials shouldn’t be stored at all, or, if they must be, they should be encrypted.
Session tokens need secure storage, such as Keychain or KeyStore. Personal information should also be encrypted at rest.
Another thing is that if phones are jailboken, attackers can access files directly on them, especially if data is stored in plain text. Regular phones are still at risk, as data can be extracted from backups and debug artifacts, or physical access if they are left unlocked.
10. Insufficient Cryptography
While it’s important to use encryption, it doesn’t automatically make an app secure. Apps can use outdated algorithms, weak keys, or be implemented incorrectly. Mobile app security depends on consistently and correctly using cryptography across the app and backend to protect data in transit and at rest.
Android vs iOS Security Differences
The OWASP Mobile Top 10 is for both Android and iOS, but the platforms have different mobile app security challenges in practice.
Advanced malware attacks are increasingly targeting mobile platforms, using tactics such as spyware, banking Trojans, and ransomware, which complicates security defenses.
Android
Android gives apps more flexibility, but that also increases risk. For this reason, secure app development practices are essential and should be done throughout the SDLC. Permissions, component exposure, and intent handling need to be managed carefully.
If any components are misconfigured or have permissions that are too broad, other apps on the device could access sensitive features. Android apps are also more often targeted by reverse-engineering and repackaging attacks.
iOS
iOS, on the other hand, has stricter controls, but that doesn’t mean its apps don’t need more security measures.
Watch out for security issues arising from insecure keychain usage, improperly managed universal links, or reliance on client-side checks.
Also, jailbroken devices can get past protections if there aren’t any extra safeguards in place. It only takes a small mistake to leave sensitive data exposed or allow attackers to manipulate app behavior.
Across both platforms, many of these security problems have the same causes, such as trusting the client too much, inconsistent cryptography, and insecure API communication.
How Mobile Application Security Testing Is Done
Another important part of mobile app security is testing for any issues before they reach production. Most teams rely on a combination of approaches because no single method catches everything.
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Static analysis finds insecure patterns in mobile code, including improper data handling and cryptographic issues.
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Dynamic testing analyzes how the app behaves at runtime, including network traffic and storage.
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Manual testing should still be done to identify logic flaws and authorization issues that automated tools don’t find.
Regular security audits and penetration testing are also necessary for uncovering weaknesses.
Mobile app security testing that combines these methods is the most effective, giving results back to developers early, when fixes are faster and less disruptive.
Building Mobile App Security Into the Software Development Lifecycle
Strong mobile app security starts long before release and, as mentioned previously (because it’s so important), should be considered throughout the development lifecycle.
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Threat modeling helps teams think like an attacker. It’s at this stage that developers need to figure out what could go wrong, while there is still time to prevent it.
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In development, secure coding practices and fast feedback help prevent mistakes.
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Before release, testing validates controls and identifies security gaps. This is the last chance to catch issues before users find them.
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After deployment, ongoing monitoring and updates help address emerging risks.
As can be seen, mobile app security is an integral part of helping organizations achieve regulatory compliance and manage security by providing automated testing, developer training, and risk management.
Mobile app security should always be viewed as an ongoing process, rather than a final step.
Mobile App Security and Compliance Requirements
Mobile apps have to comply with regulatory and security requirements, especially when handling sensitive data. Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS all have implications for mobile app security.
In many cases, mobile apps become a weak point in compliance efforts because they store data locally or rely too much on client-side logic. To avoid regulatory penalties, compliance should be maintained. Nobody wants risks like data leakage to happen.
Robust security controls help reduce compliance risk while improving an organization’s overall security posture.
Best Practices for Improving Mobile App Security
To sum up, mobile app security is built through consistent practices, some of which include:
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Performing threat modeling early to understand data flows and trust boundaries.
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Securing APIs and avoiding reliance on client-side enforcement.
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Combining automated testing with manual security reviews.
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Keeping third-party libraries up to date and monitored.
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Investing in continuous developer security training.
Turning OWASP Guidance Into Practical Skills
While learning the OWASP Mobile Top 10 is a good first step, improving security skills with hands-on experience is what makes it easier to remember.
SecureFlag provides learning paths and practical labs aligned with the OWASP Mobile Top 10, designed for Android and iOS applications. They let developers find platform-specific vulnerabilities, understand how attackers exploit them, and then practice secure coding in realistic virtualized environments.
Developers gain practical skills to build secure mobile applications and address current security challenges.
How SecureFlag Helps With Mobile App Security
With SecureFlag, organizations can enhance the security mindset of development teams by embedding mobile app security into their day-to-day work through practical training that reflects the real risks developers face.
Teams can:
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Practice fixing OWASP Mobile Top 10 issues on Android and iOS.
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Learn how attackers exploit mobile weaknesses.
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Reinforce secure coding practice in interactive labs.
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Align training with internal security processes.
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Enhance data security skills and prevent data theft.
Instead of theoretical guidance, teams can explore mobile app security problems in hands-on labs.
