5 best practices for mobile app penetration testing in 2021

Every firm wants to have a mobile application with its marketing applications, and cyber dangers have escalated considerably. As a result of this desire, mobile phones have become one of the most common entry gates for hackers. These apps have a large accessible surface area and are also frequently a weak point in an organization’s overall security. If you’re thinking about using a tool like this one for your business, this article will show you how to obtain the most significant outcomes.

Table of Contents: 

• Why is Mobile App Pentesting Recommended?
• Best 5 practices for Phone App Penetration Testing in 2021.
  • 1. Study your mobile application security assessment and create a plan accordingly.
  • 2. Knowing about the architecture.
  • 3. Choose relevant Pentesting tools
  • 4. Hire a certified penetration tester.
  • 5. Include the network and server attack.
• Conclusion

Why is Mobile App Pentesting Recommended?

Smartphone app penetration analysis is a valuable option for ensuring that all cyber attack weak points are addressed before a significant disaster occurs. It’s understandable why businesses invest more and more in mobile apps penetration testing. 

Because of the increased threat of mobile malware attacks, phone app penetration testing has become increasingly important. The technique of evaluating mobile apps for usability, performance, and accuracy is referred to as mobile application penetration testing. It’s critical for maintaining mobile safety.  This approach also verifies that phone applications are functioning correctly. Penetration testing of phone applications is a vital recommended process to minimize the danger of security flaws.

Best 5 practices for Phone App Penetration Testing in 2021.

So here are the best five practices for phone app penetration testing in 2021.

1. Study your mobile application security assessment and create a plan accordingly. 

Detailed awareness of the penetration testing management is needed of the penetration analyst. For instance, though jailbreaking an iPhone is difficult on paper, properly isn’t unachievable if you know the proper way. So, if you’d like to pentest any system, you might have to do a genuine hack to see what safety consequences there are. Before you begin phone app vulnerability scanning, you should devise a strategy to achieve the best findings. Because each smartphone app framework is different, you must identify what requires to be checked.

For your phone application development assignment, there are three basic categories of mobile apps to consider: 

1. Hybrid App – A hybrid application is a cross between a native as well as a web application. Though it could be downloaded on a smartphone like just a native app, this sort of application is essentially a web app.

2. Web App – Unlike native phone applications, web applications run in browsers such as Chrome, Safari, or Firefox and do not need to be installed from app stores. 

3. Native apps – are designed for particular platforms as well as coded in the platforms’ related languages.  

 The great place to begin is with the OWASP Mobile Security Development’s guidelines.

2. Knowing about the architecture. 

It’s essential to understand the phone application, how it obtains data and handles it in the background, how it interfaces with other services and controls user requests, and whether it identifies and responds to hacked or rooted smartphones. 

Network: Private transport techniques (e.g., TLS), robust passwords, and cryptographic methods (e.g., SHA-2) adequately protect network activity, and licensed pinning is used to authenticate the end-user.

The OS: OS or the operating system on which the program operates, whether the program is expected to install on smartphones with Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies, and any significant OS risks. 

3. Choose relevant Pentesting tools

There are a variety of mobile vulnerability scanning products in the industry right now. Some are freely accessible and downloadable, while others need payment. The setting you will be using the application will significantly determine which tool is best. 

The following are among the most popular mobile penetration testing apps:  

Wireshark

• Mobile Security Framework (MobSF)
• Appcrack
• Cydia
• Veracode
• OWASP ZAP
• Apktool
• Immuniweb® MobileSuite
• Burp Proxy
• Tcpdump

Things to keep in mind while performing the test:

• Try to crack the application as if it were a “black box.” 
• Should use applications on a variety of providers and networks, including 3G, Wi-Fi, and LTE. 
• For a quick response, use inbuilt beta testing. 
• As an element of the test plan, make sure to examine the relevant “app store” criteria.

4. Hire a certified penetration tester. 

Now that you’ve learned everything there is to understand smartphone application penetration testing, it’s critical to hire professionals to help you. The Qualified Penetration Testing certification is one of the most in-demand qualifications for penetration testing positions globally. The training is created by penetration testing experts that have examined the industry and numerous tools for themselves.

5. Include the network and server attack.

Software including Nmap and similar pen-testing armor are used to scan and detect existing weaknesses and attack risks in the system, particularly the server running the smartphone web applications. The testing must also cover unlimited file upload, open redirect, as well as cross-origin information exchange. Threats that aim to overcome authentication systems between the client and the server should be assessing hybrid mobile applications.  For example, implementing web services safety can lead to vulnerabilities like XML as well as XPath injections.

Conclusion 

The reality is that if we don’t know precisely how our apps were designed and penetration examined, we may have a false sense of security. According to the mobile security experts, installing and utilizing these applications can pose a security threat to both you and your company, as unapproved applications may have security vulnerabilities that leave your information unprotected. Use the techniques mentioned above to avoid such situations. If you are interested in learning penetration testing and analysis, you should try the certified programs provided by the Global tech council. The provider offers many great courses in this field.