7 Unbeatable Techniques for Improving Enterprise Mobile App Security

The mobility revolution has transformed our lives. From the way we shop, to travel, to work, everything is changed with the introduction of smartphones and mobile apps. A successful strategy has allowed employees to use mobile devices at office premises to access business data and applications. It has allowed the business process to align with mobile IT. The traditional method of the paper document has been eliminated and the bring-your-own-device concept has allowed employees to use their smartphones at work. There is no restriction regarding place or time and users can get their tasks done by using mobile devices.

Enterprise mobile apps are built to enhance the productivity of the business and are majorly operated in corporate environments such as business or government. It includes payment processing, billing system, product catalogs, IT management, content management, business intelligence (BI), human resource management (HRM), sales force management. As the trend of mobile apps has grown so does the frequency of app-based attacks. Where BYOD has allowed the employees to have their personal or professional interests together in a single mobile, it has alarmed the security concern even more. Though hiring a good enterprise mobile app development company can ensure development of a safe and secured app for your business, to do this, you must know a proper strategy and a few techniques for improving enterprise mobile app security. So without wasting much time, let’s begin.

What is Enterprise Mobile App Security?

Enterprise mobility has transformed the business and has accelerated the growth of the business by not only boosting employees’ productivity and connectivity but also, by enriching the businesses with new innovative services. It has provided the option to access the business data from any part of the world and hence, has equally developed the chances of high-risks from hackers and cyber attackers.

The mobile operating system has seen massive security flaws like the one in August 2016, where Apple faced a massive backlash because of the discovery of a security exploit termed as “Trident”. This was so dangerous that it affected the Apple device from the root level. Thus, such a massive backlash may turn out to be a big loss to the business from leaking out of data to unauthorized people to the loss of all the data stored in the app. Hence, enterprise mobility is important but not at the expense of its information security.

Enterprise mobility solution mostly face security issues like: -

Spyware: There is no warning and you get access to all personal data information of your mobile device including your contacts, photos, videos, and folders.

Third-party: Any third-party involvement in the mobile app increases security issues.

Malware: It initiates a disruption and enables the hackers or attackers to control your device.

Privacy Threats: It includes unauthorized access to data such as images, contact lists, etc.

Enterprise mobility management is essential for every business. It is necessary for the organizations to understand mobile application security best practices before implementing it.

7 Unbeatable Techniques to Improve the Security of Enterprise Mobility Apps

Optimize Mobile Devices

Mobile device security starts from the root i.e. the operating system. Hence, to fight from external factors, it is important to make the roots stronger. Operating systems iOS or Android both play an important role in mobile security.

iOS Devices

Apple’s policy enforcement lets you create rules like allowing or restricting certain apps' installment on the mobile device. Mobile Device Management (MDM) or Enterprise Mobile Management (EMM) provides the IT consulting companies industry of iOS devices to control the security aspects like passwords, device encryption, etc.

Android Devices

Most businesses use the Android for Work (A4W) version for their mobile app development, which is from Android 6.0. This version is known to maintain app safety.

Single Sign-On for App Authentication

Apps are quite vulnerable in today’s time to get virus attacks. Hence, double security is required to get permission on any app. This made the way for SSO (Single Sign-on) along with having a strong password. SSO Secures your app by helping users to sign in to multiple apps with a single password. Though this was not a very usable solution of users, hence OAuth 2.0 comes in which is more appropriate. It allows users to operate the mobile device with double authentication, one is the User ID and password, and second, a PIN generated on their device. Android, iOS, Windows, or any latest browser all supports OAuth 2.0 services.

Also Read: Best App Security Practices That You Need to Start Following NOW!

App Wrapping

This is the quickest and easiest way to secure apps on mobile devices. Through app wrapping, the apps are confined in a miniature form, thus keep it segmented from the rest of the device. Though it is majorly used for few business apps as it requires the sharing of authentication credentials which is generally not recommended for all your private applications.

Encrypt the Network and Device

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Virtual Private Number (VPN) are the most common types of encryption to secure data transmission. Encryption allows you to disable the application in case the device is lost or stolen. This avoids any data breach and thus improves the efficiency of the device.

Strengthening the Operating System

Strengthening the OS helps in tightening the security solution to the most. Apple has already put a lot of effort into enforcing good mobile app security in iOS. Apple uses the best tools to guarantee iOS security like: -

Review of Apple's Security Guide in every four months
Review of the latest code sample at Apple's developer site
The commercial tool is used by Apple to analyze static code

While if we talk about Android, it is a bit late in the enterprise space. Though the Google tools, including Android and its APIs, are easy to use and are cheap, hence make it a good reason to compel.

Test Repeatedly

Security is a concern that goes far from the making of the app to its launching. Hence, never rush to release these apps. Testing your mobile app multiple times to detect any bugs and vulnerabilities ensures an error-free version at the final. Penetration testing, threat modeling, and emulators are a few testing tools that should be done with each update to avoid any risks. Apps are produced at a very rapid rate; hence it is always recommended to test your apps before release so that any fix required can be updated. To ensure the maximum safety and efficiency of your app, you must opt for QA and software testing services from professionals.

Authorized APIs Only

An application programming interface (API) is an essential part of backend development and hence should have a security system in place to protect data and prevent unauthorized access. APIs are the only tool that is arguably future-proof, thus each API requires app-level authentication.

Enterprise Mobile App Security- The Need of the Hour

Enterprise mobility is evolving and won’t be wrong to say, it is the future. Financial activities are a part of enterprise mobility solutions; hence the increasing cyber-attacks are a big risk for it. The above provided are just a few practices for enterprise mobile application security and most enterprise mobility solution providers follow these practices to provide the best services to their clients. These methods are not so challenging and by following these app makers will be able to secure both the app and the data within it. A robust enterprise mobility strategy is the need of the hour as an enterprise mobility app creates the opportunity to enhance the performance and achieve the business objectives!