27 February, 2017

Mobile applications play an integral part in our daily lives. Right from online shopping, banking, gaming to controlling IoT devices and tracking fitness level, there is an app for almost every task that we perform regularly. Considering the extensive usage of apps, hackers are continually looking for vulnerabilities that can be exploited to initiate an online attack. Therefore, developers need to follow stringent testing procedures to ensure that the mobile apps are secure and do not provide a backdoor to the hackers.

Listed below are some useful application security tips for developers:

Create A Secure Code

There are a lot of vulnerabilities in an application’s source code that can provide an easy access to the hackers. You must make sure that the code you write is absolutely confidential. If possible, encrypt the code so that it cannot be read by anyone who doesn’t have the decryption key. Perform constant source code scanning to test for any vulnerabilities right from the beginning of the app development process.

Secure The Network Connections At The Back End

The web servers accessed by your application programming interface (API) should also have proper security measures in place. Sensitive information transmitted between the app’s server and the user must be protected against eavesdropping. You can consider carrying out vulnerability scan and penetration test to ensure that the data is secure.

Input Data Validations

Input validation is the first line of defense from attacks against your application. In order to design a secure application, you should always test and retest the input entered by the users. It is important to ensure that the data entered is consistent to what the specific form field is designed for. If the data does not match the expected set of value, such as a number in place of alphabets, it may hamper the proper functionality of the application.

Actively Deny Bad Requests

You should be familiar with the types of data and programs accessed by your application. User requests that can potentially jeopardize the security of your app must be actively blocked. Unsupported headers, excessively long URLs, unusual characters and other unlikely requests can be eliminated by using an application firewall.

We, at Centex Technologies, provide complete network security services to the business firms in Central Texas. For more tips to secure your web applications, feel free to call us at (855) 375 – 9654.