logo
logo
Sign in

How to Prevent Data Leakage in Android Application Development

avatar
hokuapps usa
Android app Development data leakage prevention as fallow
 
 
 
 
 
Is Quality Really a Big Deal?
 
Android application development has become a highly competitive landscape. With millions of apps competing for user attention, most Android app developers try hard to meet industry-leading quality standards and high expectations of users.
 
From a user’s perspective, the availability of low-quality apps doesn’t seem a big deal. After all, with the launch of Instant Apps, we can test the app and reject low-quality ones and download only amazing apps to our smartphones. But, what about security? Do we know enough to test an app for following high-security standards?
 
Security a Major Concern
Mobile apps are under the constant threat of hacking. Anyone with malicious intent can copy your app’s code, modify the code or attack it with malware. In the worst-case scenario, hackers can gain access to data and steal sensitive business information or user details. Cases of identity theft and fraud have become more commonplace than we’d like to know.
 
 
Due to this, businesses have become increasingly conscious of data security and it’s a major concern when hiring Android app development services. Without following industry-leading security measures, businesses may unknowingly expose their sensitive data via their mobile apps. These businesses may have spent thousands of dollars on Android app development but would greatly repent the decision if data leaks caused damage of trust, loss of reputation and revenue losses.
 
Beware of Bugs
So, how do businesses unknowingly expose their sensitive data via mobile apps? Unintended data leakage can take place due to undetected bugs in the mobile app. Most businesses use the traditional approach of Android application development, which involves endless lines of code being written from scratch. Although the Android app development phase is followed by testing and bug fixing, timeline and budget pressures result in this process is heavily compromised. The focus of enterprises is on getting powerful features and an amazing user interface, with very little attention to security concerns.
 
The better approach to Android application development is to create the app on an enterprise-grade MADP (mobile app development platform). Such a platform offers hundreds of pre-developed business modules, technology components, designs and connectors. The appropriate modules can be chosen and components, designs can be integrated with a drag and drop approach. These modules incorporate industry best practices and are rigorously pre-tested to ensure they are bug-free.
 
By using a MADP, bug-free apps for Android, iOS and the Web can be deployed automatically on the automated platform. The platform then allows 100% customization of the apps to suit a business’s unique model and requirements.
 
Moreover, with HokuApps’ Android app development services, enterprises can focus on security. The automated platform ingrains all apps with best-in-class security features automatically, so that developers don’t need to code security for each app.
 
Best-in-Class Security Features
Android has certain inbuilt security features that should be used during Android app development, as this can address security issues to a great extent. To ensure the security of your mobile apps, make sure to use only secure network protocols, says the official site for Android app developers. The article goes on to mention that it’s important to use Android’s default local storage, rather than any shared or external storage. Also provided are APIs to detect a breach of sensitive data.
 
Sandbox: The Android application development sandbox enforces security by the Linux kernel and prevents your app being accessed by another app, which could be malicious. Using this approach ensures that every app remains within its own area, known as a sandbox, and restricts other apps from entering this area. Each app is given a unique user id (UID), which allows the app to run as a separate process. Only those processes that have the same UID are permitted to share resources. Applications outside your business will not have the permission to access the resources.
 
Data Encryption: Data processing is crucial to any enterprise app. So, don’t forget to ask your Android app developers about it. Essentially, your app may use personal details to complete a task or transactions. While the task is being processed, the app encrypts the data with a private key which is later decrypted on the server using a public key. This ensures data security during transmission. The keys, however, need to be secured as well. To prevent hackers from accessing the keys, Google introduced Android Keystore System for Android 4.3 and above. This allows you to store cryptographic keys.
 
Protocols: When data is being transmitted between the mobile app and server, HTTP protocol is used. Data transmitted with this protocol is not encrypted, giving hackers the opportunity to attack and steal sensitive data. To avoid such scenario, professional Android app development services use HTTPs protocol for data transmission, safeguarding against man-in-the-middle attacks.
 
Minimizing Data Caching Risks: Smartphones and apps are meant for increased convenience. But there are instances when such conveniences can bear heavy consequences. Data caching can be attractive to hackers. To prevent this, Android app developers remove the ease of copy-paste from user login forms and force them to type in the details manually.
 
When choosing Android app development services, do remember to ask about security measures. A reputed Android app development company would keep business-critical data safe behind enterprise-grade firewalls as well as use industry best practices for encryption of all communication.
 
collect
0
avatar
hokuapps usa
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more