Ensure Mobile Security To Avoid Pitfalls

By Author: martin well
Total Articles: 364
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Today mobile phones undoubtedly are the most preferred gadgets. This is because it supports a wide variety of services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, GPRS technology, 3G, gaming and photography, apart from voice communications. Some mobile phones even come with general computing capabilities (Smartphone’s) thus making them the most preferred gadgets even above the computers. According to Gartner, “By 2013 mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide and that by 2015 over 80 percent of the handsets sold in mature markets will be Smartphone’s.”

In such a scenario, ensuring mobile security is essential, as the number of handset grows, security breaches will be inevitable. Vulnerabilities, design flaws, protocol failures in any component of mobile applications, mobile devices and mobile infra components can directly affect the security. This calls for collaboration with the best of the breed information risk management ...
... solution providers to help organizations deploy secure mobile applications on different platforms and environments. Here is a look at the mobile security services provided by the best of the breed solution provider.

Mobile Application Security
Test for vulnerabilities in mobile application by mobile application’s penetration testing (black/gray box), secure code review, reverse engineering and API’s security testing. They also help to remediate the vulnerabilities.

Mobile Application Store Security
Security assessment for Internal Apps, External Apps, Open APIs (used to interface with external and internal apps in App Store), secure code review, malicious patterns verifications, device OS and dependent Telco’s components security assessment.

Mobile Payment & Banking Security
Security assessment of Mobile Payment & Banking applications, secure code review, reverse engineering, payment gateways and application API/interfaces’ security assessment.

USSD/DSTK Application Security
Security assessment for USSD/DSTK Applications, USSD Gateways, USSD Application Server Frameworks, secure code review, USSD log analysis, USSD based payment application’s PCI-DSS and payment forum’s compliance pre-audit.

Enterprise Mobile Data Management Services
They help clients for enterprise data fragmentation, Access Control for critical business data, access control for business applications usage, Mobile Content Management, Data storage encryption and authentication for fragmentized data.

Mobile Device Security
In this service, they perform Mobile Device’s security configuration review (Secure access control, anti-virus, browser and Applications security and security manager’s customized security settings); prepare customized device security policies and user awareness programs; security assessment of Mobile Platform and OS (Android, iOS, Symbian, Blackberry, J2ME and BADA).
Thus, with secure design methodology for mobile applications in place, enterprises can secure data storage, securely deploy protocols like SMS, USSD, 3G, GPRS and WAP and reduce software re-engineering and compliance costs in the mobility era.

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