Mobile app security remains an extremely important consideration in a world where data breaches and apps being repackaged with malicious software seem to make the news every other day. Mobile apps that are not secure not only result in lost sales, brand reputation, and customer trust, but can potentially cause serious problems for developers, including leaked app features, stolen intellectual property, and government fines.
Android and iOS devices have many useful security features such as an advanced permissions system with granular control, device storage for sensitive information such as passwords, and biometric authentication. But while these features are designed to protect the user, much more needs to be done to protect the app itself from falling victim to malicious actors attempting to reverse engineer and manipulate it.
App developers in large organizations as well as independent app developers invest a lot of time in building their mobile apps to maximize performance and user experience. However, while developers work to build in protections for known security risks, it’s the unknown risks that cause problems. Malicious actors are constantly finding new and unique ways to attack and gain access to sensitive user data; One of the best ways to solve this problem is to ensure that mobile app security is an integral part of the app development process and not an afterthought. That’s where Guardsquare and its AppSweep tool come in!
What is AppSweep?
Guardsquare’s development team creates and supports a range of mobile app security products for businesses across all major verticals including financial services, e-commerce, gaming, media and more. With more than 900 customers in 85 countries and billions of protected users, Guardsquare is focused on improving mobile app security to curb the proliferation of increasingly sophisticated security threats.
AppSweep, the company’s mobile app security testing tool, helps developers quickly find security vulnerabilities and, more importantly, provides actionable recommendations for resolving identified security issues in an Android app’s code and dependencies. In addition, AppSweep includes built-in support for security standards set by organizations such as the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP).
How does AppSweep work?
After creating a project by uploading an APK, developers can use AppSweep to scan the app code and dependencies. The tool then generates a risk-based list of actionable recommendations to help users quickly remediate any issues uncovered. AppSweep makes scanning results as intuitive as possible for developers, delivering results similar to how you would navigate app code in Android Studio or any other integrated development environment (IDE). Additionally, it uses the OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification (MASVS) standard to create a framework that helps developers navigate through the results, which are categorized by different levels of security. The level of security depends on how much the app handles sensitive data like financial or user credentials.
It also provides insights and actionable recommendations to ensure you’re building an app that’s not only secure now, but also more easily protected from future troubles. AppSweep also manages to reduce the problem of false positives that plague other security scanning tools, allowing developers to focus on fixing top security issues instead of wasting time sorting through a multitude of false positives that aren’t actual problems are.
Use AppSweep to create secure mobile apps!
With the goal of making mobile app security accessible to all developers, AppSweep is completely free and can be used as many times as you like. Any developer can submit their app for analysis and receive a list of problems and suggested solutions. Registering for AppSweep is free and helps developers gain access to a range of useful tools to aid them in their mobile app security journey.
Users can invite other team members and share reports and recommendations with them quickly and easily. Developers benefit from automated security updates by integrating AppSweep into DevSecOps pipelines. Using Gradle plugins, AppSweep can work with widely used CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub and Bitrise. You can also organize your app into different projects, compare builds, examine trends, and remove redundant issues. Last but not least, with every new build you also get an integrated security analysis based on automated scans. Start your mobile app security journey with Guardsquare and AppSweep today!
