What Is Mobile App Security Testing And Their Testing Tools?

With over 5.19 billion operating mobiles worldwide, mobile security is a growing concern for consumers and mobile app developers. According to a recent report by GuardSquare, 90% of global users spend time on mobile apps. The same report found that over 43% of mobile manufacturers have sacrificed security to achieve better app ratings in 2019-2021.

Therefore, security testing of mobile apps has become a top priority for mobile app developers, and a wide range of testing tools are being developed to address the increasing number of mobile security vulnerabilities.

Today, we will discuss mobile app security testing and its testing tools. We will cover what mobile app security testing is, its different tools, testing techniques, and the role of security testing on the app's quality. 

So without any further ado, let's get started!

Mobile App Security Testing - MAST

Mobile app security testing is finding and fixing security vulnerabilities in mobile applications, and it involves finding and verifying different vulnerabilities and reporting them to the application developers.

Stats by NowSecure revealed that over 50% of apps on Google Play with over five million downloads lack integrated security. 

It is very important for mobile app security testing as the apps are getting increasingly complex, and if it is not done, it can result in security vulnerabilities. This blog aims to provide developers with deep insights about mobile app security testing to improve their security processes and make their mobile apps even more secure.

Let's have a look at the most reliable mobile app security testing tools.

Mobile App Security Testing Tools

1. Zero Attack Proxy

Zero Attack Proxy (ZAP) is a testing tool that enables security testers to simulate a fake mobile app called the attack proxy on a real mobile device in a controlled environment. ZAP is a powerful yet easy-to-use software testing tool that enables security testers to perform penetration tests, application security testing, and web security testing on Android, iOS, and Windows apps.

It comes with various testing tools and functionalities, such as the ability to build and manage your attack proxy, intercept and modify application data, and perform automated malware analysis on the target app. With zero attack proxy software, it is possible to test almost any type of vulnerability in mobile applications such as SQLi, XSS, CSRF, and others.

Unique Features

In Zero Attack Proxy, you can

• Test other people's mobile applications without having the source code
• Test your application
• Use automation to test your application automatically
• Generate test cases for your application automatically; - Use the same tools for different applications
• Check your application on any device
• Perform penetration testing without actually having a mobile device
• Perform automated malware analysis without actually having the malware
• Generate suggestions for improving your application
• Generate exploits to test your application in a controlled environment
• Perform a large range of security tests quickly and with precision.

2. Synopsys

Synopsys, a leading global provider of design and verification software, is a proven leader in the defence and intelligence communities and has a long history of security testing. As a security testing company, Synopsys partners with elite security testing teams to provide their customers with a seamless security testing experience. 

The company's security testing methodology is being used by the most sophisticated organizations in the world, such as the Department of Defense (DoD), the United States Air Force (USAF), the United States Navy (USN), the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the United States Army (USAR), the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the Central Intelligence (Intelligence) Agency (CIA), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

3. Checkmarx SAST

If you are looking for an automated mobile app security testing solution, then Checkmarx is a great option. The platform enables you to test your apps for vulnerabilities in minutes and provides automatic alerts if any issues are discovered. The platform comes with a range of testing tools that enable you to test for both web and mobile app vulnerabilities, and it also comes with an API to build your security testing tools. 

Checkmarx is a proven leader in the security testing space, and its mobile app security testing platform is used by hundreds of thousands of security testers worldwide.

4. NowSecure

NowSecure is a web-based mobile app security testing tool that allows security testers to perform automated web application security tests. It is a powerful tool that enables testers to perform web application penetration tests, web application security testing, and web security testing on Android and iOS web applications. 

It comes with various functionalities, such as the ability to build and manage your web attack proxy, perform automated web application testing on the target web application, and automatically generate test cases for your web application. With NowSecure, it is possible to test almost any type of vulnerability in the web applications such as SQLi, XSS, and CSRF.

5. Appknox

Appknox is a web-based application vulnerability testing tool that enables security testers to automate their mobile application penetration testing process. Appknox enables security testers to perform automated web application security testing on applications such as Joomla, WordPress, Magento, and other web applications.

Appknox also enables security testers to perform manual web application security testing on applications such as Joomla, WordPress, Magento, and other web applications and find different types of vulnerabilities such as SQLi, XSS, CSRF, and others in web applications.

6. SonarQube

A software testing tool, SonarQube is an open-source software testing tool that enables software developers and testers to visualize their software testing process in a unified platform. 

It also enables them to manage their software testing processes and trace back the bugs, defects, and issues in their software. The powerful software testing tool comes with various useful features, such as the ability to visualize the software testing process, automate testing, perform static and dynamic analysis, and many more. It is used by hundreds of thousands of software testers worldwide.

Software Testing Techniques

1. Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is an experimental technique that examines a system to find vulnerabilities and exploits. Penetration testing can help you understand how a system might be vulnerable to attack and can provide valuable information on whether the system is protected against an attack or not.

2. Automated Mobile Application Security Testing (AMAST)

Automated security testing of mobile apps is taking on the duties of security testing internally with the use of automated solutions to make it affordable and manageable enough to receive regular feedback on the security rating of an app. 

As part of a continuous integration or continuous delivery (CI/CD) approach, automated tools can also be incorporated into the software development life cycle (SDLC).

The Final Words

Regarding mobile app security testing, it is important to remember that it is a continuous process. It is important to continuously test the security of your mobile apps to ensure that they are protected against any vulnerabilities that may be discovered.

It is also important to remember that you will need to hire security testing professionals to conduct mobile app security testing on your apps. They will be able to automate the testing process to be cost-effective and efficient.

Also Read: Why is mobile testing important in software development?