Mobile Application Security: New Frontier in Security

Hackers are an evolutionary group of people who are always looking for new and innovative ways to breach applications, steal vital customer data and wreak havoc on the Web.  For years, hackers have targeted Windows and Internet based applications, often with great success.

As many expected, hackers have spread their wings and are now focusing on smart phones, tablet computers, and other mobile platforms, as pointed out in Cisco’s Annual Security Report.  Here’s one key quote that sums up this new frontier:

“Everyone knows the joke about the two hikers and the hungry bear in which the swifter hiker explains his footrace is not against the bear but the other hiker. The cybercriminal bears have been feasting on the “slowest hiker” Windows platform for the last decade. But with increased security in the Windows operating system and applications, the bears are looking elsewhere to satisfy their hunger. Mobile and emerging operating systems are hikers that the bears have largely ignored until now, but they are beginning to look much more appealing. These bears are also finding opportunities in the explosion in mobile-device usage, where we’re seeing a growing number of exploits aimed specifically at mobile users.”

Clearly, hackers see a new ‘slowest hiker. ’  And just as campers have learned to bear-proof their campsites, companies and organizations with mobile applications must develop even stronger application security strategies – stronger than they would use for their traditional web applications. Here’s why:

- Consumers do not like password-heavy applications on mobile devices

- There is a long cultural shift where consumers need to realize shared accountability when it comes to mobile security

- Mobile devices are more apt to get stolen or lost, leaving consumers highly vulnerable

- It is more difficult to track web browsing patterns for authentication on mobile devices

We need to be thinking one-step ahead of hackers and take a more aggressive approach to mobile application security.  For example, financial services companies have seen an increase in social engineering schemes that use all available channels of communication.  As the use of mobile applications increases, hackers will be presented with more opportunities to cause real damage.   The solutions to this problem must evolve quickly, since there is great incentive for the bad guys, as mobile applications become more and more powerful.  End users must demand answers from their mobile service providers and the application vendors as to how secure they are.

About the Author:

Greg Reber is the founder and CEO of AsTech Consulting. Since 1997, AsTech has helped Fortune 1000 companies meet the challenge of securing their information assets. In 2001, AsTech was among the first to see the emerging threat posed by customer-facing Internet applications and developed an application vulnerability assessment solution which has continuously evolved to meet today’s threat environment head-on..