6 signs that you may be overdue for a mobile application risk review

Every organization must ultimately make their own assessment as to the level of risk they are willing to tolerate – and mobile application risk is no exception to this rule.

Yet, given the rapidly changing mobile landscape (inside and outside of every enterprise), organizations need to plan on regular assessments of their mobile risk management policies – especially as their mobile applications grow in importance and complexity.

Here are 6 indicators that you may be overdue for a mobile application risk assessment.

1. Earlier PC/on-premises equivalents ARE hardened and/or monitored. Perhaps these risks need to be managed on mobile devices too – or, conversely, the risks no longer need to be managed at all.
2. Enterprise mobile apps are distributed through public app marketplaces like Google Play or iTunes. Using public marketplaces exposes apps to potentially hostile users and can be used as a platform to distribute counterfeit versions of those very same apps.
3. Mobile apps are run within a BYOD infrastructure alongside apps and services outside of corporate control. Access to a device via third-party software can lead to a variety of malicious scenarios that include other apps (yours) installed on the same device.
4. Mobile apps embed (or directly access) proprietary business logic. Reverse engineering is a straight forward exploit. Protect against IP theft while clearly signaling an expectation of ownership and control – which is often important during a penalty phase of a criminal and/or civil trial.
5. Mobile apps access (or have access to) personally identifiable information (or other data governed by regulatory or compliance mandates). Understanding how services are called and data is managed within an app can readily expose potential vulnerabilities and unlock otherwise secure access to high-value services.
6. Mobile apps play a material role in generating or managing revenue or other financial assets. High value assets or processes are a natural target for bad actors. Piracy, theft, and sabotage begins by targeting “weak links” in a revenue chain. An app is often the first target.

Want to know more about how PreEmptive Solutions can help reduce IP theft, data loss, privacy violations, software piracy, and other risks uniquely tied to the rise of enterprise mobile computing? 

Visit www.preemptive.com - or contact me here - i'd welcome the contact.

In the meantime, here’s an infographic identifying leading risk categories stemming from increased reliance on mobile applications. The vulnerabilities (potential gaps) call out specific tactics often employed by bad actors; the Controls identify corresponding practices to mitigate these risks.

The bottom half of the infographic maps the capabilities of PreEmptive Solutions Mobile Application Risk Portfolio across platforms and runtimes and up to the risk categories themselves.

For more information on PreEmptive Solutions Enterprise Mobile Application Risk product portfolio, check out: PreEmptive Solutions’ mobile application risk management portfolio: four releases in four weeks.