OWASP Top 10 Mobile Application Security Risks

Most of the time, mobile apps can put data at risk. People don’t know that when mobile apps are breached, data can be lost, corrupted and many other things can happen to them. However, they don’t exactly know what to look for since the telltale signs don’t actually provide a good indication of the risks that mobile apps have.

In order for users to know and have an overview of the mobile risks that apps have, a list has been provided as to what are the top ten mobile risks users have to look for.

Ø  Weak Server Side Controls

This mobile risk encompasses almost all that the bad things that a mobile app can do, although it doesn’t happen on the phone. However, because of the prevalence of weak servers that affect not just mobile phones but even computers, it has been listed one of the top ten mobile risks of 2014. What happens when you have weak server controls is that data on your mobile are easily exploitable and security weakness is almost common.

Ø  Insecure Data Storage

Just like in M1, in M2, data on your mobile phone are easily exploitable and security weakness is common. When there is Insecure Data Storage, loss of data can happen for the worst scenario. Often, data that are lost include usernames, passwords, cookies, authentication cookies and other important data which can create vulnerabilities for businesses and result to identity fraud or theft.

Ø  Insufficient Transport Layer Protection

This is a security weakness for mobile phones that are caused by applications that do not take proper precautions in protecting their network traffic. This happens because they often fail to use SSL/TLS which then in turn leaves the data exposed and easily exploited.  

Ø  Unintended Data Leakage

Unintended data leakage often happens when developers accidentally put sensitive information in a location in the mobile app that is easily accessible. As such, information becomes exposed and places risks to data on the mobile device.

Ø  Poor Authorization and Authentication

Authorization and authentication is a very important part of data security. They are what protect your data from theft which can use them on various criminal activities. This means that having poor authorization and authentication for your data will put you in problems such as information theft, reputational damage and fraud.

Ø  Broken Cryptography

This mobile app risk happens when your adversary is able to successfully return an encrypted data or code back to its original source which in the end forms flaws within the system. This will then weaken the system which results in code theft, intellectual property theft, reputational damage and many others.

Ø  Client Side Injection

This risk results when a malicious code is executed within a mobile device through the use of mobile app. When that happens, the security of the data is weakened and they become easily exploitable. What the malicious code does is steal information which can affect businesses in the way of identity theft, fraud and other criminal activities.

Ø  Security Decisions Via Untrusted Inputs

This mobile app vulnerability often results in loss of reputation. Moreover, it has a great impact on the integrity as well as confidentiality. This happens because of weak implementation of application functionalities which makes an improper behavior that grants easy access for attackers.

Ø  Improper Session Handling

This mobile app risk, most of the time, results in an attacker impersonating another person and performing activities and functionalities in lieu of them without their knowledge. This could result in theft, fraud and interruption to business functions.

Ø  Lack of Binary Protections

Due to this risk, the user and the application are exposed to outside threats. These threats can subsequently do some activities that interrupt business functions or they may engage in criminal activities using the information from you.