4 Mobile Application Development Mistakes to Avoid

Mobile applications have become an integral part of businesses in the recent digital landscape. They help you gain and retain consumers by allowing you to engage with them directly, assessing consumer behaviours, and enhancing their experience while interacting with your business.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau Australia, more than 27% of Australian consumers use mobile applications to purchase products at least once a week and 5% of them do so daily.

But if the application glitches out, has bugs, takes long to load or experiences other types of errors, 51% of users are likely to stop using your application. This can lead to decreased conversion rates, loss of customer loyalty and a ruined business reputation.

To prevent this from happening, you should make sure you avoid making these mistakes in your mobile application development process.

1. No Data Encryption

Security of data should be your first priority when you’re developing an application for your business. One way to make sure that it stays safe is to translate it into a secret code, called encryption. Developers often remove the certificate validation while developing the app and the finished products end up without any form of data encryption.

This plain text is a vulnerable point all hackers try to exploit the first chance they get, and once they’re in your system they can access all your sensitive information. Thus, it’s absolutely necessary to include data encryption such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol, in the mobile app development process.

2. Unnecessary Features

When developing a mobile application, it’s wise to only stick with features that add value to the app. The more features you include, the greater the risk of data breaches there’ll be. Avoid using complex programs, not only are they costly to maintain, but they’re also fragile and vulnerable to cyberattacks.

3. Weak Server Controls

Your mobile application works on servers that are either your own or belong to a third party. Weak server controls can fall prey to cyberattacks very easily. It’s important for you to take measures to maximise the security of these servers, and make sure no unauthorised personnel can gain access to the critical data.

4. Inadequate Security Testing

Security testing often takes the back seat with mobile application development. And even when organization conduct security test, they often make the mistake of treating their app as a whole instead of checking all the small integral parts of the system.

The importance of security testing during the process of mobile application development can’t be stressed enough! To prevent your data and your business from all kinds of security threats, you need to get in touch with a managed security and IT solutions company and have their team perform a few crucial tests on your app. Make sure these tests include vulnerability scans, such as penetration testing, source code assessment and network assessment.

Connect with Lean Security Today!

Lean Security provides clients with excellent mobile application penetration testing, network vulnerability assessment and quality assurance services to help them keep their businesses safe and secure.

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help your business thrive!.

The Impact of Data Breaches on Customer Loyalty

According to Norton, a data breach is an incident of compromised security where sensitive information is accessed by unauthorised personnel.

A study conducted by the Ponemon Institute states that, data breaches cost companies across the world an average loss of $3.86 million. This cost is made up of a number of factors that include loss of intellectual property, theft of critical information, damage to property, disruption of operations and most importantly, loss of customer loyalty.

Data Breaches and Customer Relationship

Customers share personal information with companies because they trust the organization to keep it safe and secure. No one wants their credit card information, purchasing histories or medical records leaked out to the world. When a cyberattack hits a business and results in a data breach, it leaves a negative impact on the customers’ confidence in the company.

A study conducted by Gemalto on 10,000 global consumers discovered that 62% of people believed businesses that hold their information are responsible for its security. When a company suffers a data breach and customer’s privacy is compromised, more than 70% of users stop using the service.

The Case of Yahoo!

Yahoo! was considered a digital pioneer and an internet giant until it was hit by multiple cyberattacks in 2013 and 2014. The data breaches affected 3 billion accounts and the hackers stole the customer names, phone numbers, email addresses, passwords and dates of birth. The attacks cost the organization a loss of $350 million.

The data breaches caused a loss in customer relationships. What made matters worse was that Yahoo! didn’t inform the public about the attacks for 2 years. Consequently, it lost its position as the internet giant to other search engines like Google.

Data Breach Response Plan

The threat of a cyberattack is always looming over your business, thus, it’s extremely important to keep your brand’s security system updated.

However, if a misfortunate event does happen and your organization suffers from a data breach, here’s how you can mitigate its effects on customer loyalty.

Be Transparent

Don’t keep your customers in the dark! Let them know what happened immediately because they have the right to know if their privacy has been compromised. This will show them the integrity of your organization and help can minimise the effects of a data breach on customer loyalty to a great extent.

Be Prompt

You should be quick on your feet after your organization has been hit by a cyberattack. Evaluate the damage caused by the breach; identify the vulnerabilities in your system and work to fortify the security of your business.

Let Us Help You!

Lean Security is a managed security and IT solutions company dedicated to providing clients with excellent services to help them keep their businesses safe and secure from data breaches.

Our team of experts can assess the technical vulnerabilities of your security system and identify what might be affecting it negatively.  

Through penetration testing, network vulnerability assessment and quality assurance services, we can help you keep your security system up to date.

Call us at +61 (2) 8078 6952 for more information.

Benefits of Using A Managed Security Service Provider - Infographic

According to the latest findings, more than 800 data breaches occurred in 2018 which was suffered by Australian companies.

Let’s take a look at a few benefits of using a managed securing service provider.

Top 4 Cyber Security Details New Employees Should Be Aware Of

With advancements in web technology, hackers have their hands on sophisticated tools that allow them to circumvent organisational cybersecurity. One of the most convenient ways for them to breach an enterprise’s security is through its employees. Statistics reveal that 95% of cybersecurity breaches happen due to human error.

Therefore, it’s important to minimise the likelihood of negligence among employees—especially new ones—by providing them with insights into the company’s cybersecurity methods.

Understanding cybersecurity best practices will reduce the chances of cyber perpetrators getting their hands on valuable company information. Let’s dive in to find out more.

Identification of Suspicious Links or Mails

It’s 2019, but phishing still remains one of the most popular ways for cybercriminals gaining unauthorised access into someone’s computer. Phishing has grown in sophistication over the years, as hackers try to make phishing scams more authentic and realistic.

Phishing is a hacking technique in which a pretender tricks a victim into opening a malicious attachment sent mainly via email or another communication platform. Once the victim clicks on the link, they are redirected to a web page that appears legitimate, but is actually counterfeit. The victim enters their private information, such as a credit card number, which the hacker then uses to fulfil their illicit intentions.  

New employees should be trained to identify malicious links, websites, and especially, their emails; statistics show that 92 percent of malware is still delivered by email. They should never trust a sender’s name, look out for spelling errors, and never respond to the urgency trick.

Moreover, they should be instructed to contact IT administration before performing any additional actions—especially when they receive a mail from unknown sources.  

Using Good Password Practices

Statistics show that 81% of company data breaches happen due to weak passwords. New employees must understand the importance of creating strong, unique passwords for all their accounts. The passwords should not include guessable words and consist of a combination of alphabets, numbers, and special characters.

New employees might not realise the importance of keeping a secure password. There are chances that they might write it down on their notepads in order to avoid forgetting it later or perhaps use the same password for every account, which can also amplify the risk of a data breach.

Therefore, it’s crucial that they’re provided with proper training on how to set up strong passwords for different devices and other dos and don’ts related to password creating, sharing, and storing to minimise the likelihood of any unfortunate event taking place.

Keeping a Clean Desktop and Mobile Device

It’s critical that your employees keep their digital devices clean and secure. This includes keeping a clutter-free desktop, avoiding duplication of files, and emptying their digital recycle bin on a regular basis. IT departments should communicate best practices of managing devices to new employees.

Furthermore, employees should turn on automatic software updates on all their internet-connected devices. Employees who bring their own device should strategise with the IT administrator to secure their device by installing antivirus software and by following other security protocols.

Reporting Cyber Threats 

A timely report from employees of a suspicious link, malware, or any sort of cyberattack can potentially save your business from a big loss. Therefore, it’s pivotal to devise an effective reporting system related to cyberattacks. Each and every employee needs to learn about how to report cyberattacks at the first sign of one.

Along with suspicious links, any sign of adware, malware, or viruses should be immediately reported to the IT department. This will enable them to neutralise the threat and identify its origin, enabling them to take preventative measures to encumber it from recurring.

If you’re looking for a dedicated managed security and IT solutions to safeguard your business against potential cyber attacks, consider hiring the services of Lean Security.

We’re an Australian-based security firm that provides dynamic and effective solutions to our customers including penetration testing services among several others.

We’re a reliable penetration testing provider that offers complete security risk assessment to ensure that every modicum of your business application remains protected.

Contact us by calling +61 (2) 8078 6952 or send us an Email at INFO@LEANSECURITY.COM.AU for more information on cyber security best practices.

The Impact Data of Breaches on Customer Loyalty (Infographic)

A data breach can cause bigger issues like customer loyalty. 64% of consumers worldwide are most likely to stop shopping from a business that had its security breached. Read what is the impact of data breaches on customer loyalty.