Mobile Application Testing Services | Microminder Cyber SecurityMobile Application Testing Services

What is Mobile Application Penetration Testing?

Mobile application penetration testing is a holistic approach to testing the security of mobile applications.

With rapidly increasing numbers and types of smart mobile devices, the number of applications created to run them is also increasing.

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Common weaknesses of mobile applications

Here are ten common reasons why businesses need to utilise well-executed mobile application pen tests:

Insecure data storage

Failing to store data securely gives hackers the opportunity to access devices and steal information. Breaches happen when software developers assume that users have the knowledge or malware to infiltrate systems.

Insuffiiceint cryptography

Lack of a proper encryption process means data on the mobile application is not safe. The data is unprotected if developers make an error when implementing an encryption attempt. This gives hackers a chance to access and manipulate data that should be unreadable.

Insecure data storage

Insuffiiceint cryptography

Insecure communication

Because most applications transmit data, a lack of proper encryption increases the risk of malicious activities and attacks.

Undocumented functionality

Some aspects of software development are meant to stay hidden and are not supposed to be available to the public. This functionality, however, makes applications less secure. As a result, experienced tech gurus can use this extraneous functionality to access the mobile application.

Reverse engineering & decompilation

Reverse engineering in software development means using a decompiling tool to find the underlying source code of an application. Hackers can identify weak points and use these access points to cause damage to mobile applications.

Improper mobile platform usage

For applications that need additional permissions in addition to general functional requirements, there is a risk of improper use of the platform.

Inadequate authentication mechanisms

Although most mobile apps have some form of authentication, these can contain flaws. This lack of proper authentication can be extremely harmful, for example, with banking apps that will give attackers access to user bank accounts.

Code tampering

Mobile software developers must develop applications with high levels of code integrity. Mobile app pentesting should check for opportunities for code tampering or modification.

Poor coding practices

Defects in mobile application codes can result in corporate security malpractices and give hackers an opportunity to access enterprise systems.

Security decisions via untrusted inputs

As most source code for mobile applications is available online, user input can be used to alter an application designed to make security decisions. The hacker can access data or steal information if this input is hiding malicious code.

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Methodology

Microminder’s Methodology for Mobile App Penetration Testing

Penetration testing for mobile applications needs to be transparent and easy to repeat. It is a security measure that uses the traditional security testing methodology but applies it in a mobile environment. Microminder’s mobile pen testing process comprises four distinct stages; intelligence gathering, mobile app analysis, exploitation of vulnerabilities, and reporting.

The first step of a mobile app penetration test is intelligence or information gathering. The data that Microminder’s pen test teams collect during this stage forms the basis of a mobile app penetration testing process.

The discovery phase aims to understand the mobile application's design, architecture and data flow. Our pentesters will use open-source intelligence (OSINT) to gather information on the application by searching the internet.

At this stage, Microminder’s testers use assessment techniques to observe how the application functions before and after installation on a mobile device. Some of these techniques include:

Static analysis
Dynamic analysis
Local file analysis
Reverse engineering
Architecture analysis
Inter application communication

This is a real-world attack simulation that helps Microminder’s mobile application pentesters see how the application will respond to an attack. Our infosec experts take advantage of all vulnerabilities they have discovered and use mobile penetration testing tools to hack the system. These are usually found online or created by the security team's developers.

The final step of pentesting mobile apps is the preparation and presentation of the findings of the test. During this stage, Microminder’s test team will create executive-level and technical reports. The former is used by management and other non-technical employees. The technical report identifies more specific vulnerabilities and gives individual remediation procedures.

Our pentesters finalise the mobile app pen test by presenting final documents that include expert recommendations, queries, and updates. At Microminders, we make sure to answer all pertinent questions and present a final version to our clients to review and approve.

Mobile application pentest scope

What to Check During Mobile Application Penetration Testing

A lot of data theft happens when hackers steal user data over public networks. Pen testing mobile apps requires infosec teams to test how data travels over networks.

Look for clear text storage that is precisely what hackers hope to find in insecure applications.

This is a crucial step for effective mobile app penetration testing. Testers need to understand the architecture and design of software to identify areas of insecurity.

It’s necessary to test the efficiency of application security measures such as session expiration during a password change or multi-factor authentication.

Pen test teams need to check for debug and error messages that could inadvertently reveal internal app information to the end-user.

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Client Testimonials

What our clients say about us

Clients in over 20 countries have secured their businesses from online threats with our cybersecurity services. Excellent customer support and cost-effective pricing are just a few of the reasons we’ve established long-lasting, highly successful relationships with our varied clients. Read our company testimonials to learn more about our unique capabilities and why so many clients have chosen us as their go-to provider for security solutions.

Claire Lee

Practice Manager - Amsel and Wilkins LLP

Microminder's in depth and broad scope pen testing truly provided us with some valuable insights that uncovered key business risks and highlighted necessary actionable intelligent changes that needed to be implemented within our business to combat any potential cyber-attacks from adversaries and prevent any breaches. This exercise helped us to enhance our cyber security posture and test our system’s resilience. We are quite pleased with our engagement with Microminder.

Julie Cockbill

Head of Operations - InfinityBlu dental

Microminder's 24/7 managed security services got deployed with such ease and immediately gave us an eagle eye view into our security logs and events, highlighting any indicators of compromise, effectively automated our response and correlated the incidents with full context, thereby triaging and eliminating all false positives. Our team are amazed at the speed and accuracy of Microminder’s Open XDR technology and skilled staff.

Tina Patel

Head of Integrations – Dental Beauty Partners

Our priority is business continuity and security, especially considering our operations across our 30+ practices. Microminder helped us with a tailored managed security services that aligned with our business needs. Their technology is at the forefront of the industry and that allows us to fully put our trust in their cyber security experts. We are glad to have Microminder as an extension of our technology team!

Philipp Mussbacher

Security Engineer & solutions consultant – Anonymous

Due to the fact that we work a lot with sensitive data in a business context, information security plays a big role for us. Due to the difficult labour market situation and the urgency to improve our security, we have chosen Microminder's CISO as a Service model and are very happy with it. Our virtual CISO manages to ensure stability and quality on the security side as well as legal requirements and compliance. I can only recommend Microminder's service.

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