Mobile apps have long since evolved from a novelty aspect of early smartphones into a suite of essential tools for interacting with people, goods, and services in daily life. A recent report found that apps take up more than 80% of the time users spend on their phones. Given this, it’s no surprise that businesses prioritize mobile app development to stay competitive in the digital market. However, research shows that these same businesses are failing to make sure that their apps are sufficiently secure or private.
The latest Annual Penetration Risk Report from NowSecure and Coalfire has revealed glaring security weaknesses in the most popular commercial apps, covering a range of industries such as airline, finance, on-demand apps, healthcare, e-commerce, travel, and more. The results found that 99% of all tested Android and iOS mobile apps failed the OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS).
Best and Worst Performing Industries
A thorough benchmark analysis by the security specialists found that automotive apps were the most secure across the board, with airline mobile apps scoring second best, and fintech coming in third. Industries that had worryingly low standards of security and privacy included travel apps and pharmaceutical apps, with around 40% of apps in these sectors having serious security issues.
The Most Common Security Issues
The report highlighted security vulnerabilities in the following aspects of many commercial mobile apps:
- Network communication
- Data storage
- Cryptography
- Permissions
When it comes to privacy, issues were also found with leaking user or app data over the network, exposing personal data to other apps on the phone, and revealing geolocation data.
Steps Toward Better Mobile App Security
Organizations that seek to benefit from a quality mobile application need to prioritize app security and privacy during the development process or risk the breach of sensitive company data or user data. That’s why businesses should partner with IT vendors who can prove expertise in QA and DevSecOps for mobile apps specifically, as they have different requirements than web app development.
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Co Founder & Co CEO AccelOne / Founder & President Axigma Training Company
With more than 30 years’ experience in the IT industry, Mario is a seasoned professional with proven capabilities and a strong understanding of local market. He has held various executive positions, both locally and regional, and as such has gained extensive knowledge in sales, operations, business controls, strategy, business transformation and leadership. He counts with deeply experience in start-ups and is a devote entrepreneur passionate about innovation, transformation and technology. This experience, combined with his deep industry knowledge, positions him perfectly to deliver his digital transformation ambitions in America, thereby empowering governments, organizations and individuals to achieve more.
Mario is renowned for building a strong education company in Argentina, (Axigma) an SAP Education Partner and Salesforce Trailhead Academy Authorized Training Provider. He is oriented on high-performing teams that consistently deliver on their financial targets, while also bringing innovative digital solutions to his partners and customers. He is recognized for strength in developing people and creating an environment where everyone can do their best work.
Mario loves fencing. He was several times Argentina National Champion, South America National Team Champion, He participated in many International events, Fencing World Cups, and was member of the National Team for +12years.
