Having a mobile app that is full-featured is not enough to drive success for your business. You have to ensure that it scores full marks from the aspect of security too as users will not keep one that they cannot trust with their personal and financial information. No wonder, apps that get hacked find no takers because users lose their trust in them. After all, no one would want their security to be taken lightly and the business that does so will never be able to gain their trust.
Have you already invested in a mobile app for your business or are planning to do it soon? Do you realize that app security deserves extra attention as it can make all the difference between success and failure when it comes to fetching and retaining a user base? The one thing that you need to ensure is that your mobile app development team follows the best practices to strengthen the security of the one they create for you. Let us highlight the security measures that they need to take and you need to follow up at all stages of the development process.
Initial Phase: Risk Analysis
App security has to get attention right from the initial stage of development. Make sure that your development partner has a security team to identify the initial risks. An in-depth analysis of parameters such as feature requirements, market trends, procedures and processes involved in app development, and more, is needed in this context.
Definition Phase: Threat Identification
Once the risks are analyzed by the security team, the app developers need to step in to identify the actual threats in terms of security of the sensitive user information. By including this definition phase in the development cycle, the provider can come up with effective risk mitigation strategies because now there are visible vulnerabilities that the need to deal with, instead of hidden ones.
Design Phase: Design Security Review
A comprehensive review of the app during the design can play a critical role in resolving the security risks. This process needs to involve the joint efforts of app owners and app developers while having an independent moderator for the review makes it even better. An app that has the “security by design” feature is an asset because it is architecturally robust.
Development Phase: Code Inspection
Once the mobile app design passes the security review phase, the next one involves the complete inspection of the app code. Here, it becomes important to check if the mobile app development company you choose has a dedicated testing team. Unit testing is the recommended approach as it involves thorough testing for modules and phases as and when they are completed.
Deployment Phase: Risk Resolution
Even though security checks are required at every stage of app development, it is mandatory at the time of deployment. This is the phase when the developers and testers need to find every single error or bug and resolve it before the app goes live. This is the stage when you need to practice extra caution because a compromised app will never be able to impress the users and you might lose them even before your app gets a foothold.
A Final Word
Besides taking proper security measures at every stage of development, your developer team should also ensure that they adhere to the best practices at their end. The following points need to be covered in this context:
- As operating systems come up with specific security measures from time to time, it is important to take them into account. For instance, if you are investing in iPhone app development, get your team to implement the latest platform-specific security updates in the app solution.
- Another thing that the developers must do is to comply with the industry standards such as HIPAA and OWASP guidelines.
- Involving the use of secure authentication methods such as two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to the mobile app.
- Prioritizing the use of secure payment gateways in an app is another effective measure to strengthen the security of the financial details of the user.
- Ensure that your app is protected from the backend with encryption using SSL, TLS, and VPN for additional security. These measures will prevent unauthorized access and protect confidential data as well.
A risk-aware business is a well-armed one when it comes to securing your apps, right from the time when you hire mobile app developers to have it deployed and running as a part of your business arsenal. The choice of a technology partner really matters because it is always better to have someone that not only delivers a top-notch product but also ensures that it performs seamlessly throughout its lifetime. Mobibiz is a name that you can trust for building feature-rich and high-security mobile apps. Contact us with your requirements and we will get back to you!
