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Mobile Application Penetration Testing

Mobile App Penetration Testing

Overview

The process of testing mobile applications involves analyzing them for the necessary levels of quality, functionality, compatibility, usability, and performance. It is a Linux-based operating system that was primarily designed for touchscreen mobile devices like tablets, and smartphones. Mobile devices are no longer just a means of wireless telephonic communication, rather mobile apps are a component of the wider mobile ecosystem, which includes servers, data centers, network infrastructure, and mobile devices. VAPT for mobile applications is a crucial step in the overall evaluation process as it aids in-app security and reduces risks from fraud, malware infection, data leakage, and other security vulnerabilities.

Methodology

The technique of checking the code and application characteristics for flaws is known as mobile application security testing. Static analysis, code review, and penetration testing are all combined in this process. Numerous programs are available for mobile devices to simplify user life. Due to the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, organizations are engaged to do mobile application security testing.

Approaches

Black Box

Black Box, often referred to as behavioral testing or external testing, is a form of software testing technique wherein no prior knowledge of the internal code structure, implementation specifics, or internal routes of an application is necessary. It focuses on the application’s input and output and is entirely dependent on the specifications and requirements of the software.

Gray Box

Gray box testing, which combines black box and white box testing, is a software testing approach used to test an application while only having a general understanding of its core code. It searches for and identifies context-specific errors that the application’s poor code structure has produced.

What do we do?

The scope of the mobile application involves identifying the security measures that were employed, testing goals, and sensitive information. In essence, this step entails complete client synchronization, during which the client and the examiner agree to defend themselves from legal actions.

It is the process of acquiring information about threats to people, or organizations and using that information to defend them. To gain a general understanding of the application, this stage involves analyzing the application’s design and scope.

The next phase is mapping the application, which involves manually and automatically scanning programs to finish the previous stage. Maps can give testers a better knowledge of the program under test, including entry points, data held, and other potentially serious flaws.

It is the phase in which security testers get into an application by taking advantage of the flaws found in the earlier procedure. At this point, it is also necessary to identify real flaws and real strengths.

The primary output of the reporting and analysis phase as well as the entire assessment process is the final evaluation report. A crucial stage for the customer is when security testers provide findings on applications’ weaknesses that are found and explain the negative consequences of those weaknesses.

FAQs

There are a few issues with testing mobile applications: too many devices in the world, various screen sizes, limited mobile network capacity, and security issues.

A few factors need to be taken into consideration - Stable across operating systems, Impressive Performance, Great user Experience, uniform scalability, usability, and many more.

There are various tools for Mobile Application testing like Appium, Robotium, and Selendroid.

Three factors influence Mobile Application Testing -

  1. a) Mobile Devices
  2. b) Mobile Simulators
  3. c) Network Conditions