Revising the Panorama of Cybersecurity in Mobile Applications
An important aspect of our digital lives, especially in the post-pandemic scenario, is that we are now app-dependent for most things. With nearly 5 billion mobile phone users in the world, and majority of them switching to smartphones, mobile apps have become the key to exchange data and services. Over 90% of social media platforms such as Facebook are accessed through smartphones and billions of people are using WhatsApp for text communication. Mobile banking and online payments have grown exponentially in the wake of the pandemic, and people are shopping for almost all needs online through apps. While the app-based ecosystem is now all pervasive, this increased use of applications to deliver or avail crucial services, and the huge volumes of critical data exchanged online, has drastically altered the cybersecurity landscape.
Mobile applications prove to be a lucrative target for cyber attackers. Just like the typical OS and enterprise applications we use to work remotely, mobile applications also come with their own vulnerabilities. According to a study, over 60% of companies reported data breach due to poor mobile app security. This is despite the fact that 44% of them did not take any responsive action to secure the app and prevent future cyber-attacks. Going forward, such ignorance or laid-back approach towards mobile application security could be devastating for industries.
